Playing With Fire
by backlash symphony
Summary: Sakura, a survivor of the Massacre five years ago, is now at KAVPA. She had a job to do but found herself torn between keeping Gaara's friendship and following the perilous tempting path of Orochimaru, the son of the mobster who arranged the Massacre. OSG
1. On the First Day

Story Title: Playing With Fire

Chapter Title: On the First Day

Pairing: OrochimaruSakuraGaara

Rating: T (some swearing)

Author: Backlash Symphony

Summary: Sakura's the new student at KAVPA and the only other survivors of the massacre at school five years before are Gaara and Kabuto. She defines herself with film and catches the eye of Orochimaru, the son of the mobster who arranged the massacre. OroSakuGaa

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Do you think I'd be writing this stuff if I did? Didn't think so.

Extra: Alright! So I'm back, yeah? For those of you familiar with my works, I've taken you through the world of strange pairings, past tragic and painful OrochimaruSakura, into the tortured reflective mind of OrochimaruAnkoJiraiya, the underwear snatching OrochimaruTsunade, and the uber sweetness and fluffiness of KisameSakura. So now I've come to give you a twist of OroSakuGaa.

So let's set things straight before we continue.

Sakura, Gaara, and Kabuto are the only three survivors of the gun massacre five years before the story begins. Everyone else was killed. End of story. The guys responsible were hauled off to jail. Sakura was taken away to deal with the trauma and returns five years later, when this story begins. Orochimaru is one of the three sons of the Uchiha, clan, though ADOPTED. He takes an interest in Sakura who moves in down the street from his house. He doesn't realize who she is until she meets his family because they tell him who she is when she leaves. Kabuto is still loyal to Orochimaru but he has a lot more freedom. Gaara doesn't exactly oppose Orochimaru since he's friends with Kabuto, but he doesn't like him because he knows he'll hurt Sakura.

All the juniors are 17. All the seniors are 18 except for Orochimaru and Kisame, who are 19 due to missing a year, and Sakura, who is 16.

Text means normal writing.

'Text' means thoughts.

_'Text' _mean Inner Sakura's thoughts.

**Text** means flashback.

**Anime. Bands. Hot Topic. Of course they'll be in there. If you see animes or bands listed, don't flip out on me. They need to be there. It's AU afterall. Zabuza is Sakura's friend. He's three years older than she is.**

I'll change the P.O.V. a few times since I'm trying to test it out, but if you think it doesn't work, tell me. Anything else, ask me later. Onto the story!

----------------------  
Sakura  
----------------------

The bus came to a screeching halt in front of the large brick and stone building. A sign was situated in the center of the grassy lawn. In faded black letters covered with plastic laminating film, '**Konoha Academy**' beckoned any viewers to pause in their step, glance at the structure with muticolored phrases scrawled messily over certain boarded windows and parts of the base, then look back at the sign and wonder what the hell kind of academy would have such a horrible front. It didn't help any that beneath the school's title lay a short written piece that said something vulgar but was painted over with a thin white substance.

Sakura Haruno, a pink-haired 16 year old high school student, rose from her squeaky bus seat, straightened her black Hellsing messenger bag, and walked down the empty aisle before swiftly exiting the bus. She cast a look behind her, watching as the bus switched to a different street to stop at. She turned to look back at the vandalized building in front of her.

This was where it all started. This was where her life had changed forever. This was where she first learned that reality was a bitch. She also discovered that her life was incredibly unfair.

It all began five years before, when she was no older than 11. She had been an advanced student at Konoha Academy. Sakura had been a year ahead of everyone else and had been offered countless times to skip a grade, but she knew that by doing so not only would she lose her friends, but she'd miss the social aspect that was provided with the year she would skip. So while all of her teachers hinted and nudged at it, Sakura was busy planning out her future- even if she was only 11.

She had plans to become a director of movies and an author or journalist when she grew up. She wanted to go to Brown for journalism and Toronto Film School for her film education.

Her plans did _not_ include taking on the title of one of the three survivors of the Konoha Massacre.

Five years ago, when Sakura Haruno was a mere 11 years old, one of her very best friends, Zabuza Momochi, arrived to school one day with a group of older boys and a large supply of guns.

**The group split up and spread out along the building, busting into classrooms and firing round after round of their weapons until each living thing had ceased breathing. They would then move on to the next classroom. Sakura had been in third period Language Arts at the time. The sound of guns being fired echoed down the hallway her classroom was branched from. The door was open, like it usually was when the weather was as hot out as it was outside. The teacher, Hayate, had instructed the students to turn the tables down and move behind them while he went to go see what was going on.**

**Sakura could remember panicking and scrambling behind the teacher's desk, under the space it provided, and curling up as tightly as she could. A few seconds later she heard the agonizing scream of her teacher and silent tears slid down her cheeks. She willed herself not to cry out loud for fear of being killed. She was terrified and she didn't know what to do. Footsteps were all the she could hear before the screams began from her classmates. The gunfire was so close, Sakura felt her ears would burst from the noise. There was some sort of a smell but she couldn't describe it for it was too faint.**

**Not that she'd want to. The killer was _in the classroom_. She squeezed herself into an even tighter ball, praying to God that he wouldn't go check under the desk. She heard her remaining classmates scrambling about the room, glass breaking from either missed bullets or attempted counter-weapons. But she knew it wouldn't work. The steps moved closer to her and she could see the killer's shadow from the few inches between the bottom of the desk and the floor.**

**There was a final silence and Sakura stuffed her face into the bend of her inned arm, trying to muffle her heavy breathing while eyeing the shadow beside her. Her heart beat wildly in her chest and she prayed harder. The feet seemed to move closer to her and she nearly let out a sob before she heard a familiar voice from what she assumed was the entry to the room.**

**"That's all the classes," the voice said. "The rest of the group is waiting at the entrance. We need to hurry. Some damn teacher called the police and they'll be here soon."**

**'Zabuza?' Sakura asked mentally, shocked.**

Sakura had been a mess since then. The five years she had disappeared from the world during felt like decades. They were painful and not particularly enjoyable. However, Sakura hadn't had all that much of a choice. She was now a high school student. A senior, to be exact. At 16. Her brains hadn't failed her completely and she'd been allowed to take an exam that would place her in a grade. She'd been chosen to be a senior, a year ahead of everyone else. Her new school?

Konoha Academy for the Visual and Performing Arts.

It was located directly across the street from the old Konoha Academy and taught grades 5-12. Sakura had to choose from Visual Art -the painting and photography didn't do very much for her-, Dance -though she thought it might be fun to replace one of the performance tapes with "My Humps"-, Theatre -since when had anyone ever cared about _that_?-, Music/Vocals -damn her to hell before she ever bothered to pick up an instrument that wasn't an electric guitar-, and TV/Film -who's bringing the popcorn?-.

Alright, since her dreams involved filming, it only made sense that she chose it, although she had listed Music as her second, expecting TV/Film to be filled. When Sakura received the confirmation, her eyes nearly bugged out of her head.

"Honestly," she muttered, dashing across the street, "how could that class _not_ be filled?"

Apart from being accepted into TV/Film, she had received a list of extracurricular activities she could pick from with the listed times and meeting places beside the name. She'd picked quite a few clubs to be in but she knew she'd be able to handle it. She was Sakura Haruno. If she could survive a massacre, there was no doubt in her mind that she'd breeze through high school, especially when she only had to be here for one year.

The academy was smaller than the original one, despite the fact that it held more students. It was a simple square building that was rather tall. Sakura walked up the steps to the front door, holding the handle and pulling. It didn't open. She tried pushing, but it still didn't open. She huffed and then noticed the small sign posted on the sign. Her hand left the handle and pressed the small red button beneath the sign. After a few seconds there was a buzzing noise. She tested the door once again and it opened.

She entered through the front doors and immediately came face to face with two sets of stairs. One was heading up, the other down. She moved up and paused, searching for a sign to point her to the Main Office. She spotted it on the right and turned the corner, walking down the hall. There was a display of plaster and paper mache bridges to her left with posters from past dance competitions and theatre performances lined up above it. Small paintings and masks were pinned above the doors to her right and she entered the office.

The room was small and slightly crowded but she moved forward to the desk, waiting for someone to help her. An older woman with graying blonde hair moved towards her.

"What can I help you with?" she asked hurriedly, fingering some papers in her hands.

Sakura pulled a paper from her pocket and held it for the woman to see.

"I'm new here."

The woman nodded and gave Sakura a quick smile.

"Turn left when you exit the office and go straight. Guidance will take care of you," she instructed before heading back to her desk.

Sakura sighed and followed her instructions. She left the office, made a left, and moved straight. There was an empty table set up right against the wall with a newspaper and a clipboard that had a stack of lined papers, a pen, and what appeared to be a watch next to it. When she arrived at Guidance, she was annoyed to see that it was just as cluttered as the Main Office. There were two doors. Above the first was a small sign that said 'A-L'. She took her chances with that one and walked in.

A small woman with black hair sat scribbling something down on a paper.

"Hey," Sakura greeted, leaning against the doorframe.

The woman turned to see who she was and smiled brightly.

"Hello! What can I help you with?"

Sakura presented the same paper to her and she nodded, folding it and placing it on her desk. She stood and walked to the file cabinet behind her and snatched a rather thick manilla folder off of the top before sitting down in front of her computer once again.

"You can call me Shizune-sensei, Sakura. Welcome to KAVPA," she said pleasantly, typing some numbers into the screen that popped up.

Sakura made a small noise in her throat and watched the woman work. Within a few seconds the printer was making strange noises and a sheet was being printed out. Shizune stood and retrieved the sheet, tearing off the hole-punched sides and handed it to Sakura. The pink haired girl took it, looking at it.

"We just started third period about fifteen minutes ago so you've got quite a bit of time left to make it there. The basement is double digit numbers, this floor is all one hundreds, the second floor is all two hundreds, and the third floor is all three hundreds. The cafeteria is on the third floor and the gym is in the basement along with your film class," she explained, seating herself in her chair once again. "Any questions?"

Sakura looked up at the older woman.

"I've got to do all of those stairs?"

Shizune smiled. She always got that question.

"Yes."

Sakura groaned.

"And you've got four minutes to do so. I can call someone up to help you out the first few days if you like?" Shizune offered.

Sakura shook her head and muttered, "I'll manage."

She turned and moved to leave the room when Shizune called her back. She scribbled something down and handed a small sheet to Sakura.

"Your pass to class. Have fun! And you can always come see me if you need something."

Sakura nodded.

"Oh, and Sakura?"

Sakura turned again.

"Be careful with Genma-sensei."

Sakura wrinkled her nose and left the Guidance area. She looked down at her schedule again.

'What's wrong with Genma-sensei?'

She shook her head, stopping.

"First period biology with Kurenai-sensei. Second period American History/Law and Government with Asuma-sensei. Third and fourth period TV/Film with Genma-sensei. Lunch. Fifth period gym with Gai-sensei or bio lab with Kurenai-sensei. Sixth period study hall with Kakashi-sensei. Seventh period Spanish 3 with Ebisu-sensei. Final period English with Iruka-sensei." she sighed, clicking her tongue in annoyance. "Alright. It's not totally horrible. Now she said third period? So I'm off to..." Sakura scanned the list for the classroom number. "TV/Film! Yes! Room 16A, so that's downstairs."

Sakura noted the staircase directly to her left and began her trek. There were two flights of stairs to get to each new floor. She moved down the steps and into the basement which was at least ten degrees colder than the first floor. Her eyes slid to the wall, seeing a yellow sign with the words 'Bomb Shelter' on it. She blinked and laughed. The basement was prepared for a war. Where exactly was the rest of the world when this school was being built? She took off to the right again and she found room 16A. It was the second door ahead of her.

Inhaling deeply, she raised her fist and knocked on the door. The muffled voice from inside halted and the door opened suddenly. The face of a 30-something year old man popped out of the room. Brown eyes widened slightly at the sight of her pink hair and Sakura ducked just in time to miss...

"A really long _toothpick_?" she mumbled skeptically, staring at the protruding piece from the man's mouth.

"Can I help you?" he asked, his voice pleasant to her ears.

She looked at him a little more closely, knowing he was doing the same to her. He had long brown hair, a chestnut shade of brown, while his eyes were a deep chocolate color. He had on a pair of jeans, something that surprised her, and a skin tight shirt that was a deep olive green. Sakura blinked.

"Genma-sensei?" she asked hesitantly.

He nodded enthusiastically, eyes closing as he smiled charmingly, the toothpick held in place between his teeth.

'So _this_ is why Shizune-sensei told me to be careful with him,' Sakura thought.

'_He's a playboy!_' Inner Sakura exclaimed excitedly. '_What kind of car does he have?_'

"Are you _really_ a teacher?"

He nodded again.

"Now is there something you needed?"

Sakura handed the pass to him and put on her 'I-Know-Something-You-Don't!' smirk and crossed her arms over her chest.

"I'm your new student."

He took a step back and threw her one of his own smirks. He swept his arm out as a gesture for her to come in and she did. She walked right past him but stopped a step away from him, scanning the room, arms still crossed. All the attention was on her, just how she wanted it to be. The door closed behind her and she heard the crinkling of paper before Genma placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Class, this is our new student, Sakura Haruno," Genma explained before tilting his head towards the girl. "Why don't you tell us a little about yourself?"

Sakura shrugged -purposely she did it to get his hand off of her but she most likely failed in making it look like it was natural since it was a bit rough- and lowered her arms to her sides, one hand on her hip.

"Right then. I'm Sakura. End of story. No nicknames. At all. I don't like cherry blossoms, cherries, or strawberries despite what most of you would think, and _yes_-" she pointed to her hair, "-my hair is naturally pink. _No_ it is not dyed. Knowing that you are all -or at least most of you are- seniors, I -despite my looking like I belong in the younger classes- am a senior as well. I'm 16."

Confused looks spread around the room and people turned and whispered to one another. Sakura smirked.

"That's right, boys. I'm a minor. Too bad for you."

"What the? _Sakura_!"

Sakura froze and spun halfway around.

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Gaara  
----------------------

The red head was annoyed. He had left his project folder at home and had to wait for his sister to drive to KAVPA to drop off his work. When Temari finally arrived, she had embarrassed him by calling him out in the middle of class change. After a few minutes of getting yelled at for a missed nail appointment, the blonde left him and drove home. He scowled at her back and turned away from the office, heading down the stairs to the right and continuing right when he arrived in the basement. He finally made it to the class he had that period and the next.

Though the door was closed, he knew he could go in. Crumpling his pass, he pushed open the door, deposited the blue paper in the trash, and nearly ran into a girl with pink hair.

"What the? _Sakura_!" he gasped.

'Sakura Haruno is back in Konoha?' he questioned himself mentally, forcing his emotions to calm down as he gazed at the turning female.

There was no mistaking the pink hair. No one else had pink hair.

'At least, no one that's still _alive_.'

Just Sakura.

He took in her new appearance, something that shocked him to no end. Hey, after being raised near a girl who always wore skirts and bright colors, her current style was a _big_ change.

Her vibrant emerald eyes were accentuated by the black eyeliner and heavy mascara. There was red eyeliner under the black creating two lines. When she blinked, he saw another line of red on her eyelids with a dark sparkly purple eyeshadow above it. Her face was paler than he remembered, but in a way that only fit the reason why she had a lack of sunlight. She still looked healthy. Her lips were coated with a shiny clear gloss that shimmered under the lighting.

There was a form-fitting crimson colored t-shirt she wore that had a black and red skull on the upper right atop a set of black angel wings. Silver feathers and swirls drifted down to the bottom of the shirt. Below that was a pair of black baggy cargo pants that were too long for her and dragged beneath her shoes. The buttons were red with a few band patches randomly sewn onto the pockets. Her belt was actually just a chain that looked like it didn't have an end or a beginning. A pink handkercheif was hanging from her back pocket and she had on regular black Chuck Taylors with hot pink and lavender checkmarked laces. There were four combination locks for lockers hanging from different loops on the waist.

Her left arm had a fishnet arm warmer that ended at her elbow while her right was covered with red Katrina support wristbands and a "Rock the Arts" wristband. Brown glass beads were on a string and a black and silver pattern of Celtic crosses were next to it. Black jelly bracelets were twisted with white ones and there were a few yellow and glow-in-the-dark green ones. Her necklace was a small ball chain with a hanging vial that had a purple liquid in it. Her name was carved on a grain of rice. There was another chain with a fake padlock hanging from it and a big keyhole carved out of the center. She had a choker that was made of a larger chain link with a piece of rolled up plaid cloth inside it.

The black Hellsing messenger back was strapped over her shoulder.

'There's no way this could be Sakura.'

----------------------  
Sakura  
----------------------

"Gaara?" she whispered.

Out of all of the things she had thought she would never see, Gaara was on the top of the list. He was one of the other two remaining survivors of the Konoha Massacre. If Gaara was there, did that mean _he_(1) was there as well?

She felt some sort of relief from seeing him there. Though he had changed a lot -she figured they all had. It's not every day your best friend betrays you to murder everyone you knew- she was glad she wasn't the only one. She stepped back and wrapped her arms around him. How was she to know he had a strict 'No Touching' policy and reputation at KAVPA that followed such a thing? And who was to know that he'd break that sole important rule to him by hugging her back?

Apparently, no one.

But he did.

"_Oooo_ I missed you so _much_!" she cried in his ear. "If I call you Panda(2) will you get mad at me?" she asked quietly, pulling away from him but keeping her arms dangling over his shoulders.

He smirked and dropped his arms to his sides.

"What do you think, Pinky(3)?"

Sakura's nose wrinkled in annoyance and she pulled her arms away, crossing them over her chest.

"Oh, you're no _fun_," she huffed.

Genma cleared his throat and eyed the two.

"Care to share or can we continue class?"

The two mumbled an apology and Genma pointed out the empty seats Sakura could take. None were near Gaara but she figured she'd catch up with him later. There was a seat near the back of the room that Sakura found to be good enough. She headed down the narrow aisle and slid into the available seat, slipping off her bag and rummaging through it for a notebook and her Dark Faerie pen.

"Orochimaru, would you lend the notes we've been taking for the project to Sakura for me please so she knows where we are?" Genma asked, picking up a piece of chalk and finishing the words he had written on the chalkboard.

A small stack of papers with sheet of neat cursive on it was placed down on her desk. Sakura moved the sheet to line up with her notebook before turning her head to thank the boy Genma had called Orochimaru. She noted how pale his skin was -to see anyone with skin that pale made her wonder about him- and how his long black hair -even in a ponytail it reached the middle of his back- was neat and he had shorter strands framing his handsome face. His eyes were a deep amber color and outline with a light purple eyeliner. Sakura blinked, her voice caught in her throat as he smirked at her.

'_Forget Genma being a playboy! This guy's probably got both genders crawling all over him!_'

'This guy is not exactly giving me the greatest feelings of comfort and safety...'

"Orochimaru," he introduced in a voice that was smooth and light, full of confidence, and held out his hand to her.

Sakura nearly shivered at the tone. Her brain was telling her that she needed to back off from him. She didn't feel too good about him. However, she didn't want to act like a _total_ jerk so she extended her own hand. His fingers wrapped around hers and he gently shook her hand. She pulled back and switched to copying down the notes. After about twenty minutes she finished the first batch of notes and returned them to Orochimaru.

"Thanks again," she whispered.

He grinned and tucked the pages away in his folder, pulling out a few more sheets from the other pocket.

"Don't thank me yet. There's still more."

Sakura groaned and took the papers, massaging her hand briefly before continuing to write. Another five minutes went by and she finished the remaining notes. The bell rang and half the class stood up, stretched, and raced out the door. Sakura looked confused.

"I thought we were here for fourth period, too..."

"Some of the students are in need of math and English help so they leave during the second half of this class," a new voice said from her left.

Sakura tilted her head to the side and saw a boy with black hair tied back in a ponytail, similar to Orochimaru's but much shorter. His eyes were the deepest black she'd ever seen and he had eyelashes any woman would be jealous of. Two thin lines were made below his eyes, giving her the impression that he was older. The difference that she found to be the greatest between the two was the fact that Orochimaru's face showed emotions. This guy didn't. His voice, however, was deeper than Orochimaru's and held an underlying tone of superiority. Regardless, she was getting the same warning in her head that this guy was trouble.

"Oh."

"Itachi Uchiha."

Sakura gave him her hand and shook it before taking it back to flip through her notes to the beginning. She read over the parts of the assignment that applied to their current project and she found herself questioning a lot of things.

"Need help, Sakura?" Gaara's voice came from in front of her.

Sakura looked up and nodded.

"Come on over by me. There's a free seat now," he said, gesturing to the empty section on the far side of the room.

Sakura caught the glances to the two boys on each side of her.

"What's the matter, _Suna_(4)?" Orochimaru asked, leaning towards Sakura. "You tryin' to take her away from us when we were just starting to be friends?"

Gaara's fist clenched and he inhaled, counting to five in his head to calm down.

"Sakura, come on," he repeated.

Sakura looked at the three surrounding her. What had she missed? Was there something wrong with her being near them? She knew she didn't feel right but what was Gaara getting so worked up about? She suddenly felt an arm slide around her shoulders as she was pulled closer to Orochimaru. She let out a slight cry of surprise, frozen.

"What if she doesn't want to? We can certainly help her out, right Itachi?" Orochimaru explained.

Sakura scowled and shoved the golden eyed senior off of her, causing him to nearly fall out of his seat. She shot out of her seat, gathering her bag and notebook and sticking her pen behind her ear.

"Here's a rule about me you need to learn. Don't touch me. When you've got that covered, _then_ you can talk to me. Until then, back off and don't make such a big deal over where I sit. It's a _seat_! I'm bound to see you later! I'm a senior, too, remember?" she explained, annoyed.

Gaara and Sakura walked back over to where Gaara was sitting and pulled the desks together. Sakura opened her notebook again and pulled her pen out. A guick look out of the corner of her eyes informed her that Orochimaru had moved to take her seat and was talking with Itachi. She looked back to Gaara.

"So what's up with you?" Sakura asked. "They threaten you or something?"

"They're dangerous, Sakura. I don't want you going near them," he warned. "Believe me, they may seem innocent or playful, but they're far from it."

Sakura's brows furrowed and she turned to look at the two once again. Orochimaru winked at her and Itachi smirked.

'_They don't look so bad!_'

"If you say so, but will you tell me what's so bad about them?" she asked, turning to face him one last time.

"You'll hear about it before you've finished two days here."

"What do you mean?" she said, confused.

"Since you're the new girl, they're going to try to hook you into being on their side. By staying with me, I can keep you safe. However, until you admit you've chosen a side, they're free to try whatever they want to sway your choice," Gaara explained.

Sakura took in the information and shoved it all into the back of her head. She didn't need to think about some stupid territorial crap right now. She focused her attention on the project at hand. Gaara finished explaining it to her. They were to make a film that included at least two people in their class. Others could be used, but two people needed to be in it. The only two categories the film could be entered in as were drama or comedy. Sakura chose comedy since it was something she knew she could do.

The bell rang and Sakura packed away her books. She and Gaara headed up the stairs and she groaned, remembering where the cafeteria was located. Gaara laughed and forced her up anyway. By the time they managed to sneak through the crowd and make it to the third floor, Sakura was panting. Gaara seemed to be perfectly fine and sakura glared at him.

"I really hate you," she muttered.

"Love you, too, Sakura," he teased, leading her to the cafeteria.

They entered into the hot room and Sakura immediately noticed the drink machines on the far end. She raced past Gaara, digging her hand into her pocket and pulling out four quarters. She hopped across a table and slid in front of the machine, popping in the quarters and pressing down on the red gatorade button. There was a rumbling before the bottle fell into the opening. Sakura's fingers wrapped around the cold bottle and prying off the top, taking a long gulp of the refreshing liquid.

"Damn, that's good!" she whispered excitedly.

"Great, now let's go. We've got a table to get to," Gaara said from behind her.

Sakura jumped and spun around, back flat against the drink machine.

"Don't do that!" she cried.

He ignored her comment and tugged her after him, shoving her down onto the chairs of the very first table by the drink machines. Soon more people started to fill up the 8-seat table.

"That loud kid is Naruto Uzumaki with the blonde hair," Gaara began. "Neji and Hinata Hyuuga, they're cousins," Gaara pointed to the two off-white eyed students. "Rock Lee in the green jumpsuit."

"Is that even allowed in the dress code?" Sakura asked, leaning a little farther back.

Gaara chuckled.

"Unfortunately, _yes_."

"Shikamaru is the one we all refer to as Pineapple Head since his hair just does that," Gaara pointed to the snoozing boy with his hair sticking up in the back.

"Ooo, I'm lovin' the hair! What gel does he use?" Sakura sked excitedly.

Gaara shook his head.

"He doesn't."

"What do you mean '_he doesn't_'?" she asked harshly, sneaking another glance at his hair. "He has to!"

"Nope. It's one of those natural phenomenons, like your pink hair, for example," he clarified.

Sakura glared at him, taking a slow sip from her drink.

"You're one to talk!" she huffed. "Mine's pink, but I don't look like I've got fire for hair! And I'd _kill_ to have the natural eyeliner thing you've got. It'd save me so much time in the morning and I'd never have to wash it off. Damn pads are so expensive for crap I could grow in my own yard!"

He chuckled and introduced the final person.

"That's Ino, the _other_ loud blonde. Everyone, this is Sakura Haruno."

Rock Lee jumped on the table and produced a paper flower from his bag, holding it out to Sakura.

"Please, be my girlfriend!" he asked, giving her the thumbs up and a wink.

Sakura blinked. She looked at the flower. She looked at Lee. She blinked again.

"Hey Gaara, are those teeth real?"

"Unfortunately, _yes_."

"Ah." Sakura put the flower down and sighed, steepling her fingers. "I wish to finish my education before I involve myself with anyone," Sakura said in a serious voice.

Lee's shoulder's slumped and he flopped back in his seat.

"I understand but I respect a woman with ambition!" he cried, repeating the pose he had just come out of.

Sakura nodded.

"Right."

Sakura finished off the rest of her drink over the next fifteen minutes. At five minutes till the end of lunch, one of the student teachers, Anko-sensei, came over to Sakura. Gaara was instantly on alert, something that Sakura didn't get. Everyone else stopped talking and their attention landed on Anko.

"You're the new girl, so I'm going to show you to your student match to shadow," Anko explained.

Sakura nodded even though she felt she could stay with Gaara, she remembered that he was still a junior, so she'd need a senior to show her around.

"I'll see you later, Gaara," Sakura said cheerfully.

With that she stood but Gaara grabbed her wrist. She looked down at him to see him glaring at Anko.

"Be very. _Very_. Careful."

Sakura nodded and he released her, allowing her to follow Anko.

"Over-protective little thing, isn't he?" Anko teased, implying somethign closer than a friendship between the two.

Sakura shrugged, moving around the next table.

"We haven't seen each other in five years. He's afraid he's going to lose me after the Massacre."

Anko froze in her spot causing Sakura to slow and come to a stop as well. She turned and glared harshly at the pink haired teen in front of her.

"You are never to say that name again. No one is. You are to refer to it as _the incident_, understood?" she commanded.

Sakura took a half-step back and nodded as anger consumed her. The older woman guided her to a table on the opposite side of the cafeteria and Sakura slowed upon the sight of Orochimaru and Itachi, only this time, they weren't alone.

"Here you are, Orochimaru," Anko said politely, gesturing to Sakura.

This didn't go unnoticed by her. Her eyes narrowed and she crossed her arms under her chest.

"What a surprise. You've got manners," Sakura stated flatly.

"Don't talk to me that way you little-"

"Anko."

Sakura's attention snapped to Orochimaru.

'He's a student! Why would he be calling her by her first name?'

"Sorry. Is that everything?" Anko apologized.

Orochimaru nodded and Anko bowed before leaving them. Sakura watched the older woman walk away and changed her gaze back to Orochimaru, eyes still narrowed as she thought. Gaara had given her a warning of how dangerous he and Itachi were supposed to be. He hadn't told her otherwise when she questioned sides. What was so important about whose side she was on? What was going on here? How was it possible that Orochimaru told a teacher -student steacher, but teacher nonetheless- what to do and she actually obeyed him as well as _apologized_ like he was some higher up? She eyed him carefully, ignoring Itachi for now.

"See something you like?" Orochimaru teased.

Sakura's glare returned.

"I'm neutral."

The pale man blinked in surprise and Itachi raised a brow, smirking.

"So sand boy's given you the lecture already, huh?" Itachi asked.

"All I know is that you two have territorial issues and that by me being on your turf, you feel you can make claims on me. So I've made _my_ claim. I'm neutral. You got that, _princess(5)_?" she snapped.

She was then on the receiving end of her very first Orochimaru glare. Needless to say, she felt her heart stop for a second longer than it needed to.

"I wouldn't say such things if I were you," Itachi said firmly yet tonelessly.

"Yeah, well, you _aren't_ me, now, are you? Forget this," she scoffed. "I'll find my own damn way around."

She spun around and made it two steps away before her wrist was snatched in a painful grip. She jerked to a stop and looked behind her.

"If you know what's best for you, you'll sit down and listen to what they have to say," the boy said to her, attemtping to scare her with his voice.

Sakura tugged at her arm but found he only gripped it harder.

"If you know what's good for _you_, you'll release me. I'll give you to the count of five," Sakura threatened.

He merely laughed. So Sakura began.

"One..."

Her teeth bit down on the fishnet arm warmer.

"Two..."

She gave it a tug.

"Three..."

She slid it off, gripping it between her fingers.

"Four..."

She tucked the material into her pants pocket.

"Five..."

With a sigh, she brought her hand to her side, fisting it.

"Don't say I didn't warn you."

He didn't have time to make a threat before her fist nailed him hard in the cheek. His tooth cut across two of her knuckles before he was sent flying backwards at least eight feet. She raised a brow as he landed with a heavy thud before moving to the table. (6) She placed her palms flat on the table top and leaned forward, making eye contact with Orochimaru.

"I don't know what it is you want. I don't know who the two of you are. But let's get something straight. I'm not an object. I'm not property. I don't get claimed like some prize. I've been through enough bullshit in my life to waste my time dealing with your stuck-up 'Daddy's boy' routine. Whatever fight you've got with Gaara is a fight between you and _him_, not me," she explained in a low tone that was laced with venom and anger. "If you want to fight with me, then I'll fight right back. I don't need others to fight for me. I can hold my own just fine," she hissed. "So I'll say this once, and only _once_. If you want me for anything, you get me the right way. The _traditional_ way. You don't go around and hint at me with your backgrounds of power. Everything goes out in the open, including why you want me on your side."

With that Sakura slowly drew back but her eyes caught Anko.

"One last thing. Your servant over there has _no_ right to tell me I'm not allowed to say 'Konoha Massacre' like she was exposed to the shootings. She wasn't the one who survived through it, now was she?"

She saw Orochimaru's eyes widen just a bit and Itachi's face held a hint of anger. She sighed heavily.

"Look, I've been to Hell these last five years and I still haven't gotten home yet. This school is my last chance at getting out. Whatever it is that's going on here, I've got no clue, so I'd appreciate it if you didn't drag me in without a explination first," she said in a softer voice. "I'll give you a second chance, alright? From the moment you agree, we no longer know each other. We never met and I never knocked one of your lackeys out." She smiled. "When the final bell of the day rings, we're open for introductions again and we'll see how it goes from there. Do we have a deal?"

Orochimaru and Itachi looked at each other and nodded.

"Deal."

The two held their hands out to Sakura who shook them. The bell rang, dismissing the students from lunch.

"Till later."

Sakura was gone in a flash so the teachers wouldn't catch her.

----------------------  
Orochimaru  
----------------------

Orochimaru was smirking.

"Looks like we've found a new toy," Itachi said as the two moved to leave the cafeteria.

"I can't _wait_ to give her a test ride," Orochimaru mumbled sadistically.

"Don't lose her."

"I don't plan to."

No, Orochimaru was going to have so much fun with Sakura. Her little outburst was just the confirmation he was looking for.

----------------------  
Sakura  
----------------------

Sakura moved through her next few classes, learning the teachers's names and providing the same introduction regarding her hair to each new class. Despite the fact that no one had stopped her in the cafeteria, she was dragged out of seventh period Spanish -you couldn't hear her complaining about anything since Ebisu was currently her least favorite teacher for being so incredibly _boring_- and brought to Ibiki-sensei's office. He was the assistant principal.

It was her first day attending Konoha Academy for the Visual and Performing Arts. Ibiki just so happened to be a hard ass ex-war veteran. So, her first day in her new life and she had received her very first detention.

"I _hate_ this school."

----------------------

Sakura walked into classroom 311 for English, blue pass in hand. Iruka-sensei took her pass and she went through the same speech once again before he placed her in the back row where the only empty seats were. Luckily for her, she had the row all to herself. Unluckily, she couldn't see a thing from her seat. She decided she didn't really care at the moment. She had just thought of something as a beginning for payback on both her oldest friend and her newest interest. Pulling out her TV/Film notebook, she scribbled her thoughts on a clean page along with a few random sketches.

After tuning in and out of Iruka's lecture for nearly 40 minutes, the bell finally rang to signal the end of the schoolday, and Sakura hurriedly copied down the homework assignment in her planner before cleaning up her belongings and tugging the sheet from her backpack that had all the extracurricular activities described on it. With a pen in hand, she circled each of her interests and the classrooms and days before hurrying down the hall to 320 for the debate team meeting. It was Monday.

Within twenty minutes she'd cleared everything up.

Monday and Thursday she had debate team in room 320. Tuesday she had literary magazine in room 213. Wednesday she had newspaper in room 320. Friday she had book club in the library. Every morning she'd come in early to type up the morning messages on the teleprompter for the morning show. Every study hall she'd report to the library to do volunteer work on Monday and Thursday. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday she would work with Iruka-sensei on the AIDS/HIV campaign to help make students more aware.

With a full schedule, she left the building to walk home. It'd take about fifteen minutes but the sky was cloudy and there was a cool breeze. It was perfect out. She started walking down the sidewalk, tucking the two schedules into the pocket of her bag. Five minutes later she paused at an intersection, waiting for the light to change so she could walk. A car stopped next to her but she ignored it.

"Hey! Need a ride?" a familiar voice called out.

Sakura looked and saw Naruto. She blinked and shrugged. If he was friends with Gaara, he'd be nice, right? She hurried to open the door and get in and just managed to shut the door before the light turned green. Buckling in, she held onto her bag.

"Where to?" the blonde asked, driving with one hand.

"371 Parks Blvd."

Music was on, a station she didn't recognize. She enjoyed the silence -which surprised her because she distinctly remember Gaara making a comment on Naruto being loud- and didn't try to get Naruto to say anything. When they arrived to her street, she bothered to take a look at the beautiful houses she's ignored before. The car slowed down as Naruto scanned the numbers and Sakura point out a large rust colored house. Naruto pulled up to the curb and let Sakura out.

"You can tell Gaara he doesn't need to do this," Sakura said as she exited the car.

Naruto tried to say something but mostly stared at her in shock. How had she known? Naruto wouldn't have waited twenty minutes before suddenly deciding to drive and coincidentally cross paths with Sakura who just so happened to be on her way home having just spent a day in conflict with Gaara's enemies.

"So your parents aren't home?"

Sakura shook her head. Why not go with the lie?

"Well, see ya tomorrow!"

She waved and he drove off. With a sigh she grabbed her key and headed to the front door, unlocking the house and going inside. The first thing she'd do was her homework before she got to work on the debate research. As she sat down to begin her homework, she suddenly realized that she'd only bothered to copy down the English assignment even though she'd have a week before her assignments started to count. She didn't mind though. It was English.

Taking out a fresh sheet of lined paper, she wrote the heading on top and the assignment below it before getting to work. In half an hour, she had twelve pages, back and front, written on with the short story homework. Alright, 'short' was a word missing in her vocabulary when it came to writing. That was just too bad. She slid the papers into her purple English folder and trudged up the stairs to the computer. Another hour went by and she'd managed to fill another few pages of the pros and cons of the Geneva Convention along with reasons why it should exist and why it should be taken away. Her backpack housed these pages as well before she fixed herself a small dinner consisting of a ham sandwich and a bottle of red gatorade.

Halfway through her meal, the doorbell rang. She set her sandwich down, took another gulp of gatorade, and got up to answer the door. With a click of the deadbolt and a turn of the key, Sakura opened the door to reveal Orochimaru and Itachi. Sakura looked shocked.

'What the Hell are they doing here? Did they follow me home or something?'

"Uh...hi?"

"Hey. I'm Orochimaru and this is my younger brother (7) Itachi. We're from the Uchiha family three houses down the left," Orochimaru said politely.

"We're here to welcome you to the neighborhood and to invite you over for dinner," Itachi finished.

Sakura stared for a few more minutes, still caught on Orochimaru's piece.

"We live on the _same street_..."

'_Score! Now we can go bug them whenever we want to!_'

'_Not_ score! That means I can't trust I'm alone!'

'_Do something! They're waiting!_'

"Sakura Haruno," she said slowly, regarding the two carefully before shaking their hands.

"So, what do you say? Care to join us?" Orochimaru pressed.

"If you've already eaten then we'd be pleased if you came for dessert and to meet the rest of our family," Itachi added.

Sakura considered it and shrugged her shoulders. She would toss the sandwich in the garbage when she got home.

"Yeah, I guess that's alright."

"Wonderful," Orochimaru said.

Sakura grabbed the key from inside and exited her home, shutting the door behind her and locking it. Stuffing the key into one of her many pockets she walked between the two men, heading to the left three houses down. It just so happened that Sakura noticed a group of people on the porch and the front lawn. It just so happened that the house she was being brought to was the most expensive on the street. It just so happened that the home she was closing in on belonged to the Uchiha family. Why it hadn't clicked until now, she didn't know. The only thing she was sure of was that she had made an incredibly big mistake by yelling at Orochimaru and Itachi during lunch.

There was absolutely no way to stop and ask them if they could meet the next day. There was no way to apologize. She couldn't save herself from this. There was no chance in Heaven or on earth that she'd make it home alive and completely intact, mentally and physically. Why? She had disrepectedand threatened Itachi and Orochimaru.

They were the sons of the most wanted mafia leader -meaning the most brutal and merciless- in the history of crime.

Fugaku Uchiha.

----------------------

'Playing With Fire' is now official.

(1) The third survivor of the Konoha Massacre. Will be revealed either next chapter or the chapter after.

(2) Sakura's childhood nickname for Gaara. She's the only one who can call him that without pissing him off.

(3) Gaara's and _His_ childhood name for Sakura. They are the only ones allowed to call her that without getting hit.

(4) Gaara doesn't have a last name. I just gave him one. Suna.

(5) Orochimaru _does_ sort of remind me of a princess. Long silky hair, purple eyeliner (in this fic), gorgeous eyes no peasant could have...you get my drift...

(6) Sakura is strong. No, she can't punch someone through a wall, but seven feet for your average sized girl is pretty damn good, or so I've been told. Her temper...well..yeah, it's best to say that doing things that won't piss her off will ensure your life won't be shortened drastically.

(7) You'll find out more later, but for now I'll settle with saying Orochimaru is the Uchiha family's adopted son. He is the oldest at 19. Itachi is 18. Sasuke is 17.

Sasuke will appear next chapter. Sakura gets to know the Uchiha family better.

Though you should all probably know, this story gets written faster because I'm giving you the life I have at my school with a bit of my history. Now I didn't have my school massacred of course and I wasn't one of three survivors of a shoot-out but I had friends who were planning to do that. It was very traumatizing to know someone you trusted with everything was planning on shooting the school and leaving you alive, but to actually have it happen must be devastating.

Sakura's flashbacks will happen every now and then. You'll eventually get to see where she was during her five year absence and you'll get to know a little more about her relationship with Zabuza, Gaara, and Kabuto. That's it for now!

Please review and tell me what you think! Till later!

Backlash Symphony


	2. Meet the Mob

Story Title: Playing With Fire

Chapter Title: Meet the Mob

Pairing: OrochimaruSakuraGaara

Rating: T (some swearing)

Author: Backlash Symphony

Summary: Sakura's the new student at KAVPA and the only other survivors of the massacre at school five years before are Gaara and Kabuto. She defines herself with film and catches the eye of Orochimaru, the son of the mobster who arranged the massacre. OroSakuGaa

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Do you think I'd be writing this stuff if I did? Didn't think so.

Extra: I forgot to say this last chapter. This fic, though it is a high school fic, isn't just about what happens in high school. There's a point, there's a big ending, and I promise I'll make it as painless as possible.

**Anime. Bands. Hot Topic. Of course they'll be in there. If you see animes or bands listed, don't flip out on me. They need to be there. It's AU afterall. Zabuza is Sakura's friend. He's three years older than she is.**

Text means normal writing.

'Text' means thoughts.

_'Text' _mean Inner Sakura's thoughts.

**Text** means flashback.

Thanks to all of my reviewers!

Chryseis Wyvernsen, Baka Kunoichi, Naraku's Phoenix, JCK, SabakuNoBrandye, kakashisninjadogs, Rhonda21, Priya, Marsgoddess1, xXSakakiXx, krystleg777, blueflamefreak, forsaken13, Hija Del Sucio

On to the story!

----------------------  
Sakura  
----------------------

They were moving closer and closer to the large house. She suddenly understood why her home cost such an incredibly low price. Either the owners knew they'd go through Hell to live so close to the Uchiha family or the Uchihas had actually set everything up so she wouldn't need to pay for it all. Step by step she was moving forward. The driveway made of smooth, black, heat-absorbing asphalt was passed over and she was suddenly pulled from her thoughts. She had less than five feet to go before she hit the lawn and she was positive she had to be looking like she'd seen a ghost.

Inhaling silently she looked at Orochimaru out of the corner of her eye. People were running from one part of the lawn to the other, across the lengthy porch, and in and out of the house. Others were lounging comfortably in chairs or on blankets with small tables topped with silver platters of appetizers. Servants, yes, _servants_, were walking back and forth between people, taking empty glasses and trays and signaling for others to exchange full orders with them. There was music the kids at their school would listen to playing as well. Some people were split into groups and were discussing things. One group in particular was made of mostly women who looked nothing like the rest of the people there.

"Whoa..." Sakura whispered, blinking quickly as if she were hallucinating.

She heard Itachi and Orochimaru chuckle on either side of her and she rolled her eyes, crossing her arms across her chest. Her feet hit the soft grass and she knew there was nothing left to do. Mumbling something insulting under her breath -she knew she was completely safe since no one would hear it- she slowed her walk down, looking more closely at the people. They were all various shades of pale skin and had dark hair with eyes that were nearly -if not darker- as dark as their hair.

So naturally, seeing all of these people who match Itachi's looks perfectly, she wondered what was wrong with Orochimaru. She turned her head to see Orochimaru's face more clearly, taking note of his long thin face with skin ten shades paler than anyone on the lawn. His eyes were golden, nothing close to the pitch black color everyone else had. He was taller than everyone else, too...

"Uh...you're adopted, aren't you?" Sakura asked quietly, focusing her attention solely on Orochimaru.

The taller boy stopped and slowly turned his head down to face her. Sakura froze and nearly cried out at his emotionless look. Scratch that. His _face_ was emotionless, but his eyes...she shivered, remembering his glare at lunch. But it was an act. The corners of his lips quirked up and he grinned at her.

"It's nice to know you figured that out on your own," he said, amused.

Sakura let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding and suddenly glared at him.

"_Don't_-" she cried, poking him hard in the chest, "-you _ever_ do that again!"

The chatter lowered as the attention shifted onto the pink haired teen now glaring daggers at the Uchiha's eldest son. Sakura huffed and totally forgot where she was until she heard a foreign laughter that caused her arm to drop to her side. She moved her head to scan the area for the person and landed on a boy that looked like a younger version of Itachi. He seemed to be around her age. Sakura blinked in surprise, looking from Itachi to the stranger and back again. She raised an eyebrow in question.

The boy -still grinning, mind you- set his drink -was that _alcohol_?- down in the hands of one of the women surrounding him and despite the fact that Sakura couldn't take her eyes off of him, she could _feel_ the glares of the boy's fan club on her as he walked closer to her. Being an Uchiha meant this kid had it made. He had the looks, the girls, the money, and the reputation that made him irresistible to women -and most likely men, just like Orochimaru. So as he walked closer to her, Orochimaru and Itachi moved away from her, winking to one another in some code Sakura didn't understand.

Mr. Confident, with his hands in his pockets and his supposedly sexy million dollar playboy smirk on, came to a halt a foot in front of her. Now, Sakura hadn't seen a guy this good-looking in a little less than five years. Who would blame her for staring? No one, right? He extended his hand to grab hold of hers and he gently tugged it away from her chest. A blush rose to cover her cheeks as he nodded his head in place of a bow and tilted his head down -yet skillfully managing to keep his gaze connected with hers- to kiss her hand before returning it to her.

"I'm Sasuke Uchiha," he greeted smoothly. "Welcome to my home."

Now, Sasuke was used to women blushing. He was used to women passing out and fainting because of the sexiness overload. What he was not used to was girls who smiled impossibly wide grins without showing their teeth, something that one usually sees whenever a person is trying to hold back laughter. She brought her hand up to cover her mouth and Sasuke saw tears forming at the corners of her eyes. She gave a rushed half bow before her eyes closed.

'Oh _no_...his hair!'

"S-Sakura Haruno. Than-nk you v-very much for inviting m-me," she stuttered, breathing deeply.

Sasuke tilted his head and rose a brow in confusion.

"Are you alright?"

Sakura swallowed harshly and nodded her head, looking off to the side so she wouldn't need to look at him.

"I-I'm fine, thank you. I just need to find Orochimaru for a moment," she explained quickly before making a beeline for Orochimaru who was near the porch.

When she got there her face was pink from having to hold her laughter in. Her fingers grasped his shirt collar, tugging him down to ear level.

"I need to laugh, Orochimaru!" she gasped out loud enough for only him to hear. "I can't hold it in any longer."

Now, Orochimaru being the intellectual creature that he is, knew fairly immediately what it was Sakura was pitifully containing her laughter for. It was usually the case with most jealous men but to have a girl notice it and not think it was cute nearly made him burst out laughing. He settled for an incredibly amused smirk aimed at the ground. Bringing his hand up he loosened her fingers and eased her away from him.

"Let's go to the backyard," he said softly, gesturing behind him.

She nodded, face getting pinker by the second, and he quickly escorted her into the back. Sasuke shook his head and rolled his eyes, jogging back over to his throng of fan girls. Itachi watched the two run off and sent a -mentally, of course. God forbid Itachi Uchiha would ever actually show emotion- questioning glance towards the pair. He headed into the house, planning on taking the back door to the yard.

The second Orochimaru shut the gate, Sakura's mouth opened up and she bellowed out laughter. Orochimaru rushed to cover her mouth -though the music and the chatter would cover it up- but he could still hear it. Itachi emerged after a few seconds to see the pink haired girl being held by Orochimaru. Itachi turned to face his older brother.

"What happened?"

Orochimaru smirked, adjusting his hold on Sakura who was now crying.

"I think it's becau-"

Sakura shoved his hand off her face.

"_Chicken butt!_(1)" she cried out, her back sliding down Orochimaru until she hit the ground, body spasming with uncontrolled laughter.

Itachi's lips curved up and his eyes closed while Orochimaru allowed himself to chuckle quietly.

"Looks like I was right..."

After a good five minutes, Sakura had been reduced to a heaving mass of appendages, gasping for air as she slowly uncurled to lay on her back on the soft grass. Wiping away her tears and rubbing her tear stained cheeks, she opened her eyes to see the two eldest Uchiha brothers staring down at her.

"You good now?" Itachi asked, shaking his head.

Sakura took in an especially big breath before slowly letting it out. With a nod, she made a move to sit up but she found herself being lifted up. With a short cry she found herself on her feet against Orochimaru. Blinking once, she realized how close they were and roughly shoved him back, glaring at him.

"_What_ did I tell you today in TV/Film about touching me?" she hissed.

"Why what _ever_ do you mean?" Orochimaru asked in mock innocence. "We only just met at your door, remember?"

Sakura groaned and walked around him to get to the gate.

"Our father would like to meet you," Itachi said before she touched the latch.

He noted how Sakura's back and shoulders tensed and he couldn't help but wonder what she knew that had caused her original awkward behavior. She nodded silently and spun to face him, following the two boys with an expressionless face. She paid little attention to the inside of the house, only worrying about how much information she could give without making him suspicious. Orochimaru looked over his shoulder at the silent girl and mouthed something to Itachi who repeated the gazing action before nodding.

"Hey, Pinky, smile a bit, would ya?" Orochimaru teased, knowing that he'd get a reaction by calling her what she had told him not to.

She glared at him and was about to insult him when Itachi stopped her in front of a large oak door. She forced a calm expression onto her face and clicked her tongue against her teeth in annoyance.

"Don't act like it's the end of the world, Sakura. You're only meeting our father, after all," Orochimaru said simply.

Sakura nodded and Itachi knocked on the door.

"Sakura is here."

The two boys moved away and left her there. The door opened before she could say anything and she walked in. There were three other men in the room with her. One behind her, shutting the door, one sitting in front of the desk and one sitting behind the desk. From what she could remember, the one behind the desk was most likely Fugaku. He gestured for her to come closer and she did.

"Have a seat, Miss Haruno," he said tonelessly.

Sakura gave a small smile and no words as she followed his request as far as the chair. Before she sat down, she bowed.

"Thank you for inviting me to your home when I didn't know anyone here," she said honestly.

"So _you're_ the girl who left my two oldest sons in awe today. Usually I can't get Itachi to talk and I can't get Orochimaru to be quiet but apparently you changed that to be just the opposite."

Sakura swallowed the dryness in her throat away.

'_We're screwed. Definitely._'

'He likes to get straight to the point, doesn't he?' she thought nervously.

"So what is that you want from me?" she asked seriously.

She could've sworn she saw his lips curve slightly into a smile but it was gone just as swiftly as it came. Steepling his fingers, he leaned forward, elbows placed on his desk. She heard him chuckle, however.

"It's refreshing to have an intelligent female at your age, especially one that doesn't immediately lust after my children."

If Sakura had been drinking anything, the Head of the Uchiha clan would've found himself drenched.

'He didn't just say _that_!'

He chuckled once again at her expression.

"No offense, _Mr_. Uchiha, but there's nothing your sons have, are, or _know_ that interest me," Sakura said bitterly. "They're fine choices for _other_ girls, but they're not my type. Of course," she paused, leaning back in her chair, "you didn't want to talk to me because you wanted to discuss a possible relationship between your sons and myself, correct?"

"Watch your mouth, girl!" a voice hissed from behind her.

Fugaku looked behind her and any further protests were silenced. His attention shifted back to her again.

"Perceptive little thing, aren't you?" he said in a low voice before sighing. "So how much do you know about the Uchiha clan, then?"

Sakura clicked her tongue and nibbled on her lip, looking off to the side.

"Enough," she answered vaguely.

Fugaku raised a brow slightly.

"Enough?" he repeated, earning a nod. "Look, I don't think you understand-"

"_Don't_ talk to me like that! When you had your sons invite me, they never said anything about being interrogated by you! I don't have to tell you anything considering the fact that everything I know the rest of the Konoha population knows as well!"

There was silence for at least a minute as Fugaku looked at Sakura. Her emerald eyes were furious as well as pained. When he finally spoke, she looked away.

"I think for both our sakes we should come clean with each other. What do you say?"

A few moments went by as Sakura thought it over.

"If you tell me what you know about me first, I'll agree," she whispered, annoyed.

"Sakura Haruno. Age 16. Senior at KAVPA. Majors in TV/Film. Born in Konoha. Raised in Konoha with Gaara Suna -one year older-, Kabuto Yakushi -two years older-, and Zabuza Momochi -three years older-, your closest friends. At age 11, Zabuza hired a group of people to help him murder every student and teacher in the Konoha Academy except for you. Yakushi and Suna were the only unintentional survivors. Before the police could stop him, he murdered your parents, Gaara's parents, and Kabuto's parents. For the five years between the Massacre and now. it's not entirely clear where you were, but at one point you were sent to-"

"That's enough!" she cried.

Her fingers were clenching the arms of the chair she was in. She sucking in ragged breaths through her grit teeth and she was struggling to keep the tears from flowing over her cheeks.

"Obviously, five years of supposed therapy didn't do anything to help you since this is such a sensitive subject still."

Sakura shot up from her chair and spun away from her seat, stomping toward the exit.

"Fugaku Uchiha. You're the most wanted criminal in the world for your leadership of the yakuza, Uchiha clan. You've murdered thousands of innocent people around the world in order to obtain more power and money. You intend to pass the leadership down to Itachi because he is your eldest son and a pure Uchiha. You have other plans for Orochimaru. Despite the fact that you've got control of nearly everything in this country, you want more," she spat hatefully.

Turning around, she bowed slightly before straightening.

"Thank you for allowing me into your lovely home."

With that she moved past the guard, opened the door, exited the room, and slammed it shut behind her. The exit was within sight and she forced herself to appear happy as she neared it. Suddenly, without a single word to warn her, all the servants she had seen earlier rushed past her and out of the door. Curiosity peaked, Sakura sped up and arrived at the exit. The servants were lined up across the porch. She struggled to see past them because they were all taller than she was but she could barely make out anything. The Uchihas that were sitting and sipping cocktails on the porch were standing as well, drinks down on the small tables.

She heard all of the talking come to silence and with a low growl she spun around, running through the house and past an emerging Fugaku until she reached the back entrance. Rushing through the door, she turned and hopped the gate, landing on the other side of the fence in a crouch before silently jogging down the driveway. She kept her back pressed to the side of the house and poked her head out over the corner, watching.

Once again, all of the people were standing, hands free of everything. The women surrounding Sasuke were all kneeling in a line, hands placed before them with their heads turned down in respect. Sasuke, Itachi, and Orochimaru were standing on the sidewalk in a half circle. There was a black limo in front of them and Sakura strained to see who was exiting the car. She caught a flash of silver before Itachi and Sasuke parted, allowing her a full view of the man. Sakura's mouth dropped open as all of the people standing leaned forward in a bow.

More people exited the car behind the silver haired boy. There was a fiesty looking girl with incredibly sickly pale skin, glaring eyes, and fiery red hair. A rather large boy clambered out from behind her, followed by another boy that Sakura nearly thought was a girl because of his thin frame and long white hair. The red eyeliner didn't help any nor did the colored bands in his hair. Another redhead, only his hair was a deepr scarlet than the orange color of the girl's, reminded her of Gaara. His face was set so that he looked emotionless. A tall, tall man with what appeared to be blue-grey skin exited on the other side of the limo, towering over the rest of them. A blonde that looked feminine but was actually a man was talking animatedly to the blue skinned boy who seemed incredibly annoyed.

Sakura turned her attention back onto Kabuto.

"Kabuto?" she whispered, taking a step past the side of the house.

It was as if he heard her whisper for she soon found her jade eyes making contact with his black ones. Sasuke was the first to notice where he was looking and motioned to his older brothers who followed the look. Orochimaru jogged over to her, smirking, and gave her arm a tug.

"Come on. I'll introduce you," he said, pulling her along with him.

Her mind was in a daze at seeing his slightly shocked face. She had taken all of five steps before Kabuto was running towards her. She vaguely felt Orochimaru releasing her as much as she felt Kabuto's arms wrapping around her, crushing her to him in a hug. She didn't say anything and the two of them never noticed the car that pulled up the driveway of her house. When he finally pulled back, she was still staring at him with disbelief in her eyes. But it wasn't the type he was hoping for.

She couldn't believe he was with _them_.

"Sakura!"

The pink haired girl's shoulders tensed as she snapped her head to look at the person calling her name. One incredibly pissed redhead was coming her way. Kabuto let his arms drop from Sakura to shift his body to see Gaara but he kept his body close to hers. Sakura was brought from her daze by the shout and she shook her head slightly, blinking. Looking back up at Kabuto she took a step past him only to find his hand around her wrist, pulling her back.

"Hey! Kabuto, let go of me," she hissed in annoyance, looking over her shoulder at him.

He looked down at her with a half smile.

"I just got to see you again for the first time in five years. Can't I at least get a 'hello' or 'how have you been?' at least before you go running off on me?"

Her eyes hardened and she wrenched her arm from his grip, spinning so her back was to Gaara.

"You seem to have been doing just fine," she whispered with hurt lacing her words.

She felt a sudden stinging sensation on the back of her neck and she shifted her feet, hand flying out to catch the fist aimed for Kabuto. Gaara glared at her but she stared him down, forcing his hand back to his side.

"Now's not the time," she told him, eyes burning with the need to cry.

The three Uchiha brothers were soon behind Kabuto and Sakura turned back to face the four men.

"Suna, it's not polite to come to a party uninvited," Orochimaru said sourly while crossing his arms over his chest.

"And it's annoying to have someone alive when no one wants them to be," Gaara countered in a growl.

Sakura felt the tension quadruple at the statement and the look of anger on Orochimaru's face caused her to look away.

"Cut it out, you two," she said firmly, knowing it would only escalate from there.

"Come on, Sakura, we haven't seen each other in a while. Let's go talk and catch up, 'kay?" Kabuto suggested in a friendly tone.

An arm encircled Sakura's waist, pulling her back against a solid chest. She saw Kabuto's smile falter and his eyes narrow ever so slightly. Turning her head slightly to the side she brought a hand down to rest on Gaara's.

"Calm down, Gaara," she said softly. "I've been here less than a day. I don't need this. Nothing happened," she assured him. "They invited me over. It was all safe. They didn't try anything," she explained.

His eyes closed and she saw his jaw clench. She pat his hand and he slowly opened his eyes, removing his arm from her body.

"You'll see Kabuto in school tomorrow," he said, voice strained.

Sakura nodded and nudged Gaara. He backed off a bit and Sakura bowed quickly.

"Till tomorrow, then. Thank you for inviting me and Sasuke?" she turned her head to see him. "I apologize for my earlier behavior. Good night."

She turned away from the group, ignoring the calls for her to stay and walked off with Gaara towards her home. Pulling the key out from her pocket she inserted it into the door and stepped inside once it was open. Gaara was eerily silent and it didn't help her knowing he was pissed.

"What's with all this secrecy?" she asked, somewhat frustrated from the entire day's events.

"If they find out you've left with me, things are going to get a lot more complicated. If they see you letting me out, they'll think you're still home."

With a nod and a wink he opened the door. Sakura smirked and started talking as he exited the house.

"-ch a _baka_! You made such a huge deal so you could ask me how the rest of my day went!"

Her acting was very good. Gaara smirked and shrugged his shoulders, turning around before digging through his pants pocket. He pulled out a thin flat box the size of a post-it and handed it to her. She blinked before taking it. He nodded to it and she hesitantly opened it. Sliding the top off she nearly dropped it. Head snapping up to meet his eyes, she watched him grin before he pulled the gift from the box, holding it between his fingertips.

"You kept it?" she whispered, one hand covering her mouth in shock.

Undoing the clasp of the necklace, he motioned for her to turn around. Sliding the cool metal around her neck, he reattached it over her hair before pulling her hair out and laying it over the chair. She spun around and wrapped her arms around him.

"Thank you so much, _Panda_!" she mumbled in his ear.

He grunted out his displeasure at the name before his arms settled around her waist.

"Pinky, what did I tell you in school?"

Her nose scrunched in annoyance before she let him go.

"I'll see you in school tomorrow, then, Gaara," she said happily.

He nodded and turned, walking down the steps and cutting across the lawn towards the driveway. Sakura turned and walked inside like she normally would, closing and locking the door. Once she was done with that she rocketed away from the door and to the side door, quickly opening it and shutting it behind her. Gaara gestured to the back seat and she slid in silently. He opened the driver's door and entered the car, slamming the door shut once he was in.

"Lay down on your side and cover your hair with the jacket that's there," he told her, starting the car.

She did as instructed and he backed out of the driveway, taking off in the direction he had come from on the street. The radio was turned on and it struck Sakura how stupid she must look hiding in the back seat of a car with a leath jacket pitifully hiding her bright pink hair. She blinked once before finding the words she wanted to say.

"I'm playing 'Hide the Innocent Convict' because?"

"You can sit up now," Gaara said, changing the station.

She tossed the jacket onto the floor and buckled herself in. "When the Sun Goes Down" by Arctic Monkeys started playing and Sakura grinned, humming along with it. After a few minutes of Sakura singing along with random bits of the song, it finally ended and Gaara pulled the car to a halt somewhere Sakura didn't recognize.

"Hey, Panda, where are we?" she asked innocently, eyeing the apartment complex they had arrived at.

He turned his head slowly and she rolled her eyes and unbuckling her seatbelt. Gaara exited the car first, pocketing the keys, and opened the door for her, eyes sliding slowly from one side to the other in a well hidden paranoid fashion. Sakura gave a light snorted laughter before shaking her head.

"I still don't even know why I followed you into this," she sighed, following the redhead into the building and up the stairs.

At the passing of the second flight of stairs Sakura was reminded of the God awful amount of stairs back at school. She groaned as they hit the fourth flight and her breathing was reduced to panting.

"_Now_ I know why those stairs don't phase you at school! You're living in a place that could give school a run for its money!" she exclaimed, nodding. "It's a conspiracy, I'm telling you! They're going to rebuild the world's buildings so that there's more than one floor and lots of stairs to each floor! That way insurance companies won't need to pay as much money because they won't have fat or unhealthy clients! Micky D's won't get sued anymore and they can add a double helping of lard to each helping of fries without any worries! And-"

Gaara came to a stop halfway up the sixth flight and looked at the panting pink haired girl over his shoulder.

"Pinky."

She raised a brow.

"Yeah Panda?"

"Do me a favor."

She nodded.

"Sure thing. What?"

"Stop thinking."

With that he continued up the stairs leaving a scowling Sakura behind him. Honestly, who wouldn't? Conspiracies about stairs? Riiight.

"And lay off the hair straightener, would ya?"

Sakura gasped at his statement but quickly forgot about it as Gaara stopped in front of a door, unlocking it and opening it. Sakura whizzed past him and ran to the couch, diving onto it and landing on her back. It was was just as she squirmed herself into a more comfortable position that she realized two things.

1. Couches aren't supposed to grunt.

2. Couches don't have the ability to glare so hard you _feel_ it.

Opening her eyes she looked up to see a very annoyed Shikamaru with his legs under her back. A grinning Naruto was under her legs. Sakura blinked.

"You weren't here just a second ago..." she said quietly. "At least, I don't think I saw you..."

"Just get off, woman!" Shikamaru complained, shoving Sakura off his lap and onto the floor.

She heard Gaara's laughter and Naruto's protests to the rough action. She sat up, dusting herself off and glaring at the yawning boy. Neji was next to her now.

"You could be a little nicer!" she hissed, rubbing her lower back. "So what's with everyone?" she asked Gaara.

"I figured since you've met everyone siding with the Uchiha clan, I would let you meet everyone siding with me," he explained, leaning against the coffee table.

Sakura took a look around the room, noticing all of the face she had seen earlier that day.

"But, Gaara, you introduced me to everyone at lunch, remember?" she reminded him.

He nodded.

"Basics. We will be getting to know you just a bit better, Sakura," Lee explained from somewhere behind her.

"Ah."

"That's right. I'm not trusting you in that house for a few days, either, so one of us will be staying with you and alternating with someone else for at least a week," Gaara explained.

Sakura jumped to her feet, eyes wide.

"What!" she screeched. "No one is living with me!"

Naruto's brows furrowed and he turned to look at Gaara.

"How do you plan on getting that past her parents?" he asked.

Sakura flopped back down, looking at the ground. Gaara looked at her.

"She doesn't have any so there won't be a problem."

"What? But she said-"

"I said they weren't there. You never asked me if they were alive or not," Sakura said with a slight pain to her voice.

"Right. Now I've offered to take watch first. Who wants second?"

Naruto's arm raised at the same time as Lee's but Gaara pointed to Naruto for second.

"Lee, you can take third. Neji, will you take fourth?"

The Hyuuga nodded and Shikamaru sighed, annoyed.

"And I get fifth, right?" he muttered, leaning back and closing his eyes.

"Right. Naruto and I will take the next two nights of the remaining week."

The next few hours were spent going over the smaller details of the week and planning out different things regarding Sakura's pick up and drop off schedule. sakura didn't really say much. She was mainly wondering how long this mess was going to continue for and when she'd be able to break free. Now that she knew that she was going to school with the infamous Uchiha sons this territory issue was much bigger than before and she wasn't as easy to jump to tell Gaara to back off. She vaguely feared for her life now but it wasn't something she wasted time worrying about.

So it was beginning. One day hadn't even finished and she was being assigned body guards. The next day of school was bound to be hell for her. She was already being dragged into a world she thought she had no need to be in. She just didn't know how wrong she was.

----------------------

Next chapter:

Kabuto and Sakura meet alone. Kabuto's escape from the massacre is revealed in a flashback. A new project is assigned alongside the old one and a field trip is proposed for the following week. Sakura is cornered. Gaara gets framed. Lee kicks some ass with Naruto.

Ta...da? This chapter totally turned out the exact opposite of what I'd intended it to be. Sakura was going to live with Gaara and there wasn't going to be a meeting. I was going to add more KabutoSakura into there but that didn't turn out either. Something else was supposed to happen at the meeting with Fugaku but I don't remember what...darn it...Oh well.

I was thinking about actors who could play Naruto characters and here's the list I came up with. I had some help from krystleg777. Thanks a bunch! If anyone wants to add or change, tell me and I'll update it. If you want to change one, give me a reason why.

Kakashi: Dane Cook  
Sasuke: Matsumoto Jun  
Itachi: Steven Strait  
Sakura: Lindsay Lohan  
Genma: John Corbett  
Hinata: Emma Watson  
Shikamaru: Oliver James  
Deidara: Owen Wilson  
Asuma: Vince Vaughn  
Kiba: Garrett Hedlund  
Ino: Lauren C. Mayhew  
Tsuande: Pamela Anderson  
Rock Lee: Jason Ritter  
Orochimaru: Richard Roxburgh

"Having your school massacred, $567. Being totaly traumatized, $198. Going back to school after a 5 year absence, $285. Calling Orochimaru 'Princess', priceless. There are some things money can't buy, for everything else, there's Master Card."

Thanks Hija Del Sucio for this funny addition! Hope to have more from you soon!

Please don't forget to review! Till later!

Backlash Symphony


	3. Confrontation

Story Title: Playing With Fire

Chapter Title: Confrontation

Pairing: OrochimaruSakuraGaara

Rating: T (some swearing)

Author: Backlash Symphony

Summary: Sakura's the new student at KAVPA and the only other survivors of the massacre at school five years before are Gaara and Kabuto. She defines herself with film and catches the eye of Orochimaru, the son of the mobster who arranged the massacre. OroSakuGaa

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Do you think I'd be writing this stuff if I did? Didn't think so. I don't own The Acacia Strain either.

Extra: **A warning to anyone who is offended by the topic of lesbians, you can skip over the part.**

**Anime. Bands. Hot Topic. Of course they'll be in there. If you see animes or bands listed, don't flip out on me. They need to be there. It's AU afterall. Zabuza is Sakura's friend. He's three years older than she is.**

Text means normal writing.

'Text' means thoughts.

_'Text'_ mean Inner Sakura's thoughts.

**Text **means flashback.

Thanks to all of my reviewers!

**Chryseis Wyvernsen, angelfox13, Naraku's Phoenix,** **kakashisninjadogs,** **Rhonda21, xXSakakiXx, krystleg777,** **forsaken13, Hija Del Sucio, SpeedDemon315, Kakurine IL, forsaken13, Naraku's Phoenix, angelfox13, apple trees, AriaOfChaos, dragonfly454, Bobalu, 666-anti-christ, MikariStar, AsianOne, Candace, MikariStar.**

On to the story!

* * *

Gaara

* * *

That morning had been hell.

No. _Really_.

Sakura hadn't gotten up on time for starters. School began at 8AM. Sakura's alarm was set for 7:40. It was a twenty minute walk from her house to school which meant she'd never have time to take a shower, dry off, blow dry her hair, get dressed, put make-up on, eat breakfast -not that she ever had-, and grab her things before she left. At 7, Gaara's alarm went off, shrilly beeping next to his cramped position on her living room couch. A shower, new change of clothes, and a cup of coffee later, it was 7:24 and Sakura hadn't been up.

Going into her room was like going into a mine field. Every step held the bone chilling possibility of blowing you up -of course her room wasn't a mine field. But still, knowing from past experience, Sakura was a beast whenever someone woke her up. He remembered once when they were younger, Sakura was having a sleepover and she refused to get up. No, scratch that, she didn't get up no matter what they did. Gaara vaguely remembered watching the pink haired girl get pelted with batteries and remain dead asleep.

Silently he tiptoed over to her bed and, senses on edge, placed his hand on her shoulder, giving her a light shake.

"Pinky, get up. I'm going to be late if you don't hurry!"

He heard a giggle and drew back his hand, hopping away from the bed.

Sakura plus giggling equaled _bad_.

Almost as bad as her 'nice' smile, but nowhere _near_ as deadly.

"I was waiting for you to wake me up, _Panda_," she said in a bubbly voice.

She turned over and sat up, messy pink hair still retaining some organization and falling around her shoulders in waves. Gaara's eyes widened -mentally, of course. He's never show it- and he took a step back.

'Screw bad. This is murder,' he thought.

"Right, so hurry and get dressed. It's 7:24, now, and we need to...get...goi..ng..."

Gaara raced out of the room, barely ducking a heavy book -where the hell did _that_ come from?!- that was whipped at his head. He slammed her door shut behind him and hid beside the wall, half expecting her fist to punch through and grab him.

"_What do you think alarm clocks are for?!_" she cried out.

Not even a moment after the comment about alarms, a loud beep was heard before The Acacia Strain started playing. Gaara blinked and looked slowly towards her door. Since when had she started listening to The Acacia Strain? And why would she set her alarm so late when she had to walk to school? No doubt she'd take a while to change and do her make-up, eat breakfast and shower. And straighten her hair. He sighed and got to his feet, heading towards the kitchen.

"Gaara!" Sakura's voice caused him to halt halfway down the stairs. "Don't wait up for me!" her head popped out over the banister in the hall. "I'll see you in class."

He raised a brow -or at least the skin where one would be- and sent her a short glare. He crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head.

"I'm not leaving you by yourself. Were you _not_ listening last night?" he asked, annoyed.

Sakura gave a frustrated sigh and crossed her own arms over her pajama clad chest, producing her own fiery glare. She leaned forward slightly in a menacing way. Very. _Very._ **_Very._** Intimidating.

"Anyone tries anything and I'll beat them up. I'm not a little defenseless girl anymore, Gaara," she snapped. "I've gotten stronger these past years. I'm better now," her voice grew softer. "Just give me a chance to prove myself. If things get bad then I'll let you step in, but you're taking control of my life just when I managed to get it back," she said desperately. "Please don't make this any harder than it already is. I _promise_ I'll let you help if it gets too out of hand, but _please_ let me do this my way. I want to take care of this myself."

Sakura could see Gaara was in deep thought by the way the skin of his forehead scrunched up, eyes looking at her but not actually _seeing_ her. She knew he wouldn't like it. That was a given considering how protective he was of her. What surprised her the most was the fact that he hadn't asked her where she'd been these past five years. Not that she wanted him to, because she'd never tell him, but she felt relieved that she wouldn't need to say anything. If he brought it up, she wouldn't give him anything. She'd simply evade the question or merely tell him she wasn't comfortable talking about it yet.

'_It'd totally blow our cover, anyway._'

Sakura nodded mentally. What she'd been through was hell and she didn't want Gaara to know lest he go on a rampage once he heard what she was forced to do. She'd already lost one great friend who fell under the cloak of insanity -that's what _they_ called it, but sadly, and dis_turbingly_, she couldn't help but think of it as a stroke of pure genius- and she didn't need her absolute _closest_ friend shipped off to the cushion room for wanting to keep her safe. While he may have been a complete ass a lot, the people he cared about -whether he bothered to grace them with the proof of that or not was a different story altogether- he would protect, namely _her_, because he knew what she'd gone through.

"Fine," she heard him say. "But you _must_ promise me you'll let me help when I think it's gotten too out of hand," he added, looking up at her expectantly. "And that you'll continue to let us take watch over you during the night."

Sakura gave him a small smile and a playful wink.

"Alright, alright, now get going. I've still got to get ready."

* * *

Sakura

* * *

With that Sakura turned and headed back into her room, leaving Gaara to shake his head and continue on his way downstairs, only avoiding the kitchen to go to the side exit. Backpack in his hand, he left her house and got into his car. With one last glance at the house holding his best friend, he started the car and took off, hoping to get to school early enough to meet the rest of the group.

Sakura was finished getting dressed by the time she saw Gaara's silver BMW driving down the street and had brushed her hair and teeth. She headed into her bathroom to do her make-up, changing her look from yesterday to something else. She went with the usual black mascara but replaced the black and red eyeliner with a sparkly dark green, applying silver roll-on eyeshadow with a line of the eyeliner over that. Grabbing a blue roll-on tube of sparkly eyeshadow, she brushed it over her eyelashes, glittering the tips. She put on a light red lipstick before heading out of the bathroom.

Out of her room, down the stairs, she paused at the mirror hanging there to double check her reflection.

She was in a very faded black just-above-knee-length jean skirt that was frayed at the ends with a white and dark green horizontaly striped sleeveless shirt that came down to mid thigh and hugged her skin in a comfortable way, allowing adjustments. There was a hood on the back and it dipped down in a faintly curved V-neck that ended a few inches below her chest. Under the shirt she had on a light grey long sleeve shirt -the sleeves were too long, covering her fingers- made of the same clingy material as the shirt on top of it. It was a normal shirt, no patterns or designs, and stopped right at her neck. To add the outfit she had on black and green striped low-top Chuck Taylors and just-short-of-knee-high grey and dark green argyle socks with small black skulls.

Finishing the outfit she had a few worded pins on the bottom of the skirt and earrings that looking like black zippers. Two long beaded necklaces were dangling around her neck, one a pale grey color, the other a light green.

With a smirk she pushed her wavy pink hair behind her shoulders and turned, heading towards the kitchen to grab her backpack. She'd skip breakfast like she usually did. It always made her feel nauseous and sometimes so did lunch, but she forced herself to at least eat a granola bar or something during lunch to keep her metabolism going. That, and she didn't want people to think she was starving herself. She could only get away with so many skips before someone took notice, and more than likely missing two lunches would spike an interest in a certain flame haired boy.

After taking a moment to change from her Hellsing messenger bag to a much smaller messenger bag -it would pass of as a large purse, though- that had silver dots and a section of white and black skulls outlined by frayed red fabric, she headed for the door. Snatching her MP3 player off the table near the door, she turned it on, placing one earphone into her left ear and letting the other wrap around the back of her neck. Once she left the house, locking the door behind her, she began to walk down the street, towards the Uchiha home. The school was from that direction and she cursed silently when the door opened and four boys stumbled out, all arguing.

One was still fixing his hair -Sasuke- and Sakura wanted to laugh but couldn't bring herself to. The two oldest were looking relatively calm, though they both held slight scowls on their faces as they continued to argue. The final was Kabuto who was talking rapidly while moving his hands in a silent support to his words. Sakura noted a maroon colored Jaguar XK8 Convertable sitting at the curb and sighed.

"Rich boys and their senseless wastes of illegally earned money," she mumbled, changing the song playing to "Rapture" by Hurt.

It was one of her favorite songs despite the pain that was in it. A woman claiming Jesus told her to murder her child simply because he told her it was against God that she kept it. The man who fathered it was very attached and noticed how similar he looked to the child. She loved this song. She really did.

She was just passing the Jag completely when she heard two enthusiastic cries of "Good morning, Sakura!" and one much less enthusiastic mutter of the same greeting. Sakura paused and turned her head to face the four boys who were now almost all the way to the car. Sakura raised a brow at them and sighed.

"Mornin'," she said with little enthusiasm, not even offering them a smile before she turned back and began to walk away.

"Hey, wait up a sec, will ya?" she heard Sasuke ask.

Sakura paused and turned again, having moved only four steps ahead.

"Yeah, what?" Sakura asked, suddenly worried she wouldn't make it to school on time.

'_Che, it doesn't really matter. Afterall, those classes don't even know we're the new student since we didn't have them yesterday._'

'Good point.'

"Walk with me?"

Sakura would've choked had she had something to choke on.

"You're not serious, are you?"

Once again, the Great Sexy Sasuke found something wrong with this girl. Her behavior the previous evening was awkward, something he'd never experienced with a girl. And now she was turning him down when he asked her to walk with him? Was he doing something wrong? Or was this chick not interested because-

"You're not a lesbian, are you?" he asked bluntly, a faint trace of disgust in his voice.

Sakura stared at him for a second before she shook her head in a way that expressed the pity she felt for him and made to leave.

"You're really pathetic, ya'know that? I'm not, for your information, but you seem to make it out like it's a bad thing. Apparently tolerance wasn't something dear ol' _dad_ taught you," she snapped, walking away and leaving a confused but slightly angered Sasuke and a smirking Kabuto. He clapped Sasuke on the shoulder, grinning.

"Nice way to blow it, Uchiha," he said with a soft laugh before running off to catch up with Sakura.

Sasuke gave a low growl at the back of the silver haired boy. He never really liked him, and Kabuto's constant polite attitude -as fake as it was- annoyed him to no end. With a mumbled curse he popped open the trunk and threw his bag in before hopping into the cramped backseat of the convertable, sitting with his legs stretched across the seat. Itachi and Orochimaru piled in, Orochimaru the driver for that day. The car sped off past Sakura and Kabuto, a scowling Sasuke the last thing Sakura saw.

"Hey Sakura!" Kabuto called out.

The pink haired girl slowed but didn't stop. Kabuto caught up with her and readjusted his backpack. He gave her a pleasant smile that resulted in the corner of her lip quirking up.

"Sorry about Sasuke. He's a brat, no doubt about it," Kabuto explained, hands in his pockets.

"Mm..."

Kabuto looked at her from the corner of his eye, noticing the differences five years could bring.

"He's a total playboy, just like the other two. In fact, I think he might be worse considering he doesn't know when to stop or back off. No manners, either," she said sourly, crossing her arms over her chest. "I mean _seriously_!" she cried out. "He had the balls to ask me if I was a lesbian! Just because I'm not drooling over him he assumes I like girls, and the way he said it was like I was trash! What's wrong with having a same sex preference?" she ground out, obviously pissed.

It wasn't that she was upset he had thought she was a lesbian, but it was the way he said it that pissed her off. She had always been the type of person who rarely judged people or things that were different in the minds of the 'normal'. Granted, she wasn't normal by the way she dressed, but normal was an opinionated term, just like perfect. Though her version of perfect was incredibly different than everyone else's.

Sasuke's implication was clear enough and for that comment, the way he meant it, she hated him. Why? Her mother was a lesbian. She and Sakura's father had gotten married and had Sakura but when Sakura was seven, her mother had confessed to her father. While most would flip out and become angry at their spouse for lying, Sakura's father had simple smiled and pulled his wife into a hug. They had gotten a divorce so that Sakura's mother would be able to date freely but they still lived together so Sakura wouldn't grow up without one parent to be there. She had two moms and a dad.

Sakura hadn't understood, but she was glad to have learned that lesson that early in life.

So to meet someone -in a world where many people looked down upon it- who was so obviously disgusted by something completely natural -and _yes_, it _was_ natural- really pissed her off. How dare he judge when he didn't know anything about it? How dare he imply that he was superior because he was 'normal'? It was people like him that made her wish she really was a lesbian just to prove to him that she was as normal as anyone else, just how it should've been.

But the world was cruel and while some were tolerant, the rest weren't. While some of the same sex could befriend and get close to someone who was gay or lesbian, unafraid of hugging or playful pushes and shoves, others backed away and refrained from any physical contact, no matter how innocent. Sakura couldn't care any less about it. In her life, growing up in a world where two females showing intimacy is as normal as the rain is wet, could walk right past a couple and not bother to stop and stare because it didn't matter to her.

"I understand, Sakura, but he's a sheltered spoiled jerk who wouldn't be able to do anything if he didn't have his father to hand off money for him to use," Kabuto said sincerely.

"Plus his hair looks like a chicken's butt," Sakura mutter angrily.

Kabuto broke out in laughter and Sakura couldn't help but give a small sad grin at her old friend. The fact that he was hanging with the Uchiha crowd should've been enough to warn her to keep her distance, but catching up wouldn't be a sin. After they got caught up, she could back off and split away from him.

"So what's up with you and Gaara? He seemed just about ready to kill you last night," Sakura queried innocently, looking at her dark green nails.

"He's pissed I became friends with Orochimaru and he refused to let me hang with him anymore," he said simply, shrugging.

Sakura raised a brow.

"Why would you want to, anyway?" she asked, confused. "Hang out with Orochimaru, I mean..."

They crossed an intersection and Sakura could see the school up ahead.

"He's really cool. He's a smart guy, fun to hang around with, and he looks out for me. He knew about what I'd been through and he knew I needed someone to fall back once things got rocky between Gaara and I," he explained, admiration blatant in his slightly distant tone.

Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Lovely. You know Gaara and Orochimaru are trying to pull me to their sides? I've tried to explain I'm neutral but they're both stubborn jackasses that won't listen to me," she said. "They think I'm weak, like how I was back _then_."

Kabuto slowed down suddenly and Sakura noticed. She stopped and turned to look at him.

"What?" she asked.

"We need to talk but not right now. It's important. Do you think you could ditch Gaara after school?" he said in a low voice.

Sakura looked confused but she didn't say anything at first. After a few moments she finally did.

"Can you skip fifth period?" she asked.

He though for a moment about which class he would be missing. He had a study hall that period.

"Sure. We can meet in the theatre since the majors will be done," he confirmed.

She nodded and they started walking again. The entered the school and they realized the halls were completely empty. Kabuto looked down at his watch and tapped it, showing it to Sakura.

"Crap, we're late," she hissed.

"You're worried about being late when you're planning on skipping Spanish?" he asked skeptically.

"Don't st- wait...how'd you know I had Spanish?" she asked slowly, suspiciously. "Er, wait, no, I _don't_ have Spanish that period..."

"It was changed, that's what Itachi said," Kabuto explained.

Sakura looked at him awkwardly, still unsure of the reason why Itachi felt he needed to tell Kabuto.

"Ah. Um, you've gone here before, right?"

"Since the massacre, yeah."

He saw Sakura flinch but acted like he didn't. He wouldn't bring it up. It was in the past, though it was about to become their future which was why he had to talk to her later.

"Good. You can show me where Ms. Kurenai's room is," she said with a grin.

"Mrs," Kabuto corrected, smiling and heading up the stairs with Sakura beside him.

"Oh, Mrs, sorry," she mumbled.

"She married Asuma-sensei," he explained.

"Ah."

They turned down the hall and went around two corners before stopping on front of a door with a picture of a monkey on it. Evolution was printed under it. Sakura nodded her thanks and opened the door, walking in, words in mind. The students shifted their attention to Sakura, as did the red-eyed woman in the front of the classroom taking names.

"Hey. I'm the new student, Sakura Haruno?"

Kabuto followed her in and walked with her up to the desk. Sakura felt uneasy and when she turned to look over her shoulder, she found nearly every girl in the classroom _glaring_ at her. She raised a brow before looking at Kabuto who had a smirk on his face.

"Oh yeah, you've been here a while, haven't you." The question was said as a statement, and an annoyed one at that.

"Mr. Yakushi, nice to see you again," Kurenai said sweetly with a smile that the silverhaired boy returned politely.

"The same goes for you, Kurenai-sensei. I was also wondering if I could get a pass to my first period class. I found Sakura wandering the hallways, lost, on my way to the bathroom, and I've been gone longer than I should've been because I stopped to help her," Kabuto explained.

The older woman smiled and nodded, pulling out the paper and signing it but leaving the time blank.

"Fill in the time when you're done and thank you for being so helpful to our new student. Once again, welcome back, and I hope to see you again sometime."

Kabuto thanked her and took the slip of paper before wrapping his arms around Sakura, hugging her. It was brief but it was enough to issue a few gasps from the girls who appeared to be in his fan club.

"Good luck, Pinky," he whispered before stepping back and exiting the room.

She blinked and shook her head.

"O..kay...?"

"Sakura, why don't you tell us a little about yourself?"

Sakura shrugged.

"I'm 16. And it's real. I have pink hair."

Sakura took a seat up front and pulled out a notebook, ready to take notes. She realized Ino was sitting behind her just as she sat down. The girl was grinning.

"Nice going, Sakura," she said happily.

Sakura nodded and smiled as she settled in to the routine of taking notes.

* * *

Kabuto

* * *

"So you've got it?" Kabuto asked, leaning against the wall.

The silver haired boy held his hand out to take the wrapped package the orange haired girl handed to him. He pocketed the item and smirked. His reached his hand out to pull the girl to him. She grinned and let her body mold into his, the fire burning in her eyes. He spun easily and pinned her body to the wall before leaning in and pressing his lips to hers. Familiar with the routine, she opened her mouth, welcoming his tongue while her hands twisted in his hold above her head. He pulled away some seconds later and threw her a sexy smile, the one he knew made her knees shake and the pit of her stomach turn to liquid fire.

"I'll meet you in the usual place after school, Tayuya. Behave till then," he said smugly before walking away, leaving the panting girl to her own fantasies.

* * *

Gaara

* * *

She was late. Oh so very late. TV/Film had started twenty-six minutes and thirteen seconds ago. But who was counting?

'Fourteen seconds...'

Alright, obviously _he_ was, but he had a right to. Sakura had to walk right past the Uchiha house in order to get to school and being the stubborn thing that she was, he knew she wouldn't cross the street to avoid the house. Genma was too busy toying with one of his junior students, knowing she just so happened to be the president of his fan club. Yes, Genma-_sensei_ had a _fan club_. Deal with it 'cause God only knows Gaara had to.

The platinum blonde giggled at something he said that wasn't meant to be funny before she left, cheeks red and mind already twisting the experience into something gossip worthy. Honestly, it wouldn't be gossip if it was the truth. Genma turned abck to his desk, making a final revision of his notes for that class. A few seconds after the blonde exited the room, Sakura waltzed in, a book in her hand and a pen in the other. Genma looked up and gave a sigh, looking at the skirt wearing girl.

* * *

Sakura

* * *

Sakura walked over towards an empty seat that was between Orochimaru and Gaara, eyes still glued to the book she was holding. Genma stood up, a small stack of papers in hand, and walked around his desk, heading towards Sakura's seat. the girl was still paying attention to her book and didn't notice him as he came towards her. She only noticed when his shadow came over the page and she didn't even look up at him.

"Could you move please? You're blocking my light," she asked tonelessly.

Genma scoffed and reached down, snatching the book off of her desk.

"Hey!" she cried out, jumping up to grab it back.

Genma took a look at the cover and smirked.

"I didn't think of you as the geeky girl," he mused.

Sakura glared at him and leaned forward, palms pressed to the desk.

"I'm not a _geek_, now give me my book back," she growled.

Gaara knew one thing about Sakura. She was an avid reader. She read anything she could get her hands on. Back in the first grade when they had introduced the reading level colors, green being the lowest, yellow being next, red after that, and blue being the highest reading level, Sakura had read all of the blue level books in a week. They were chapter books. By the time third grade came around, Sakura was reading college level books. She had read the entire adults and teen section by the time the massacre had taken place. Now that he looked at her, she was reading _math and science_ books.

'She must be desperate,' he thought.

But he knew Sakura's infatuation with boks had been more than her love of reading. It had been because of Zabuza and the plans they had made together. Their relationship had been closer than the one she shared with Gaara and Kabuto combined.

The second thing he knew about Sakura was that anyone who called her a geek would be lucky just to get an earful. The girl packed quite the punch when they were younger and he didn't want to see if it had gotten any worse for the victim since then.

Genma tapped the book against Sakura's nose and grinned, walking back towards his desk.

"You can get it back after class," he said joyously.

Sakura muttered an insult under her breath and angrily plopped back into her seat. Genma placed the book in his desk drawer before heading to the first row, licking his fingertip and counting off a few of the sheets he had, passing them to the first person.

"Take one and pass it back," he instructed, going to each row and handing out the smaller stacks of papers.

When he finished he moved to the chalkboard, picking up the powerdered stick and writing on the board. Sakura received her page and found that it was actually a small packet. She flipped through the pages and noted that none of them had anything to do with the others. She heard the tapping of the chalk against the board come to a halt and she looked up to see a listed schedule of discussion written out.

"Alright, now first thing's first. You've got a project due in two days time. Thursday, for those of you who don't know what day that is. You'll each present your projects, and just a reminder, anything inapropriate will result in an F," Genma began.

Sakura's brows furrowed.

"Why not a zero?" she asked Gaara, leaning over slightly.

He leaned towards her.

"Have you met Kakashi or Jiraiya yet?" he whispered.

Sakura shook her head.

"Kakashi is the study hall surpervisor and art teacher. Jiraiya is the health teacher. Both of them are huge perverts and Genma just so happens to be on buddy-buddy drinking terms with Kakashi who learned everything he knows from Jiraiya," he explained.

Sakura nodded.

"But he flirts with his students so-"

"Something you'd like to share, Miss Haruno?" Genma asked knowingly, an eyebrow arched in the typical playboy manner.

Sakura held back a grimace and forced herself to toss the bad images she was getting into the garbage can in her mind.

"Nope, nothing of importance," she said quickly, feigning innocence.

"Mm_hm_. Anyway, as I was saying, we're going to vote for the project that is the funniest and that person will receive double credit-"

"How 'bout a _date_?"

Sakura nearly gagged at the question and Genma spun around to see an orange haired girl in a miniskirt and an incredibly tight fitting spaghetti strap shirt with the words 'I Love the Army. I Can Blow the Hell Out Of Things' printed in bright pink lettering. Sakura nearly gagged at _that_.

'Now I know why that comment sounded serious...'

_'Slut. Totally._'

"Tayuya, how lovely to see you've found this class acceptable to join today," Genma said sarcastically.

Sakura grinned and mentally applauded for Genma.

'Nice to see he knows which girls to go after.'

'_Jail bait!_'

She gave him a fake smile and walked over to Sakura, scowling at the pink haired girl. She put her hands on her hips.

"Hey, _pinky_, get out of my seat," she snapped.

Sakura raised her eyebrows in an amused way before giving Tayuya a smug smirk. She leaned back in her seat some more.

"Oh, I don't know, this seat is pretty comfortable," Sakura protested playfully. "Besides, you missed out. First come, first serve, _doll_."

"I _said_, get **out** of my **seat**," the angry girl commanded.

Sakura sighed and rolled her eyes, tilting her head to look at Genma.

"Hey teach, I thought this school had pest control? All I'm hearing is buzzing and it's _sooo_ annoying," she complained. "I don't want to get infected with any diseases or anything and I'm worried about my health with this bug flying around. Besides, the school could get a bad reputation if anyone finds out we're _infested_. God forbid we have them multiplying all over the place."

Snickers and laughter erupted throughout the room and Sakura saw Genma cover his mouth in a fake cough to hide his amused smirk. Tayuya's face turned pink with embarrassment and anger, and the girl shot her arms out, hands violently twisting the fabric of Sakura's shirt and yanking her up and forward. Sakura bit back a cry as the sudden movement and steadied herself by holding her hands on the desktop. Sakura's grin turned into a scowl as the orange haired girl holding her growled at her.

"Listen, **_pinky_**, I run this school, so don't get in my way because you're new and you think you're hot shit! You're not, so learn your place!" Tayuya hissed and before Sakura could even get a word in, she found herself being roughly thrown, tossed, _some_ sort of action, off to the side and slammed hard onto Orochimaru's desk on her back.

She sucked in a breath at the painful contact and realized that since things had gotten physical, she could finally let out the anger she'd been holding in, the one building from Sasuke's comment and Gaara's unfair treatment. Tayuya was about to get her ass handed to her on a _platnium_ platter. Screw silver, Sakura was ready to do some serious damage.

A dark grin broke out on Sakura's face as she sat up slowly, propping her hands up behind her.

"I don't think _you_ realize who you're talking to. I could send you to a hospital if I felt like it, and you've got no idea how pissed I've been since I started yesterday, so a good fight would be greatly appreciated right now," she explained calmly with just a hint of amusement.

"A fight?" Tayuya cried, laughing slightly in disbelief. "What would _you_ know about fighting? You don't know anything! I'd _school_ your scrawny ass!"

Sakura waited for a few moments for Genma to stop them before they _did_ fight, but a look at him only served to show her he was enjoying every second of this. He winked at her as a silent cue to begin, and Sakura smirked, thankful she had at least one teacher who was willing to let her do something wrong.

'_Does he think he's getting a cat fight? We don't fight like that! He should know..._'

"Then show me what you've got," Sakura baited, waiting for Tayuya to make the first move.

Sakura didn't have to wait long before an open hand made contact with her cheek, the impact making her head turn to the side. She vaguely wondered if Orochimaru would step in to stop before she got her hit in considering he had seen what she could do the previous day during lunch. He didn't make a sound, and Sakura grinned again.

"Was that it?" she asked, amused. "Was that your _schooling_ me? A slap? Che," Sakura laughed, fisting her hand. "That's nothing, compared to _this_."

Her fist rammed into Tayuya's cheek and the girl cried out in obvious pain before she was sent backwards a good five or so feet, directly into Genma's body. Sakura's smirk settled down to a knowing smile as she silently hopped off of Orochimaru's desk. She walked down the aisle between the desks -but not before securing her bag over her shoulder-, ignoring the looks she was getting from Gaara and everyone else in the class -Itachi and Orochimaru, of course, already knew from lunch the previous day she was capable of this. Genma groaned in annoyance as he found himself being held by and now crying Tayuya.

"A little help, please?" he asked, incredibly annoyed as he felt tears soaking through his shirt.

Sakura paused and tilted her head, looking down at him. After a few moments she shook her head and grinned.

"Sorry, teach, but a _geek _doesn't have the strength to help."

With that she stepped around him, snatched her book off of his desk, and left the classroom. Once the door clicked shut, Tayuya's crying slowed to sniffles and Orochimaru rose from his seat to go help the girl up.

"You're a terrible faker, you know that?" he whispered only loud enough for her to hear.

She nursed her aching cheek and pressed up against him.

Gaara knew something was up. Grabbing his books, he quickly stashed them into his AFI messenger bag and exited the room just as fast.

* * *

**Gun shots. It was all Kabuto heard. All around him, people he went to school with, spent time outside of school with, respected, they were all dead. Dead or dying.**

**'Sakura,' he thought worriedly, pausing to check from behind the desk to see how many more people there were alive.**

**None. Not a single one. The two older boys that had guns double-checked the room to make sure no one survived, and Kabuto quickly flopped onto his stomach, right into a pool of blood coming from another student no more than a foot away from him. The footsteps arrived right behind him, but he held his breath perfectly, eyes open and staring off into the distance. He felt a foot nudge his back followed by a grunt. The footsteps moved away from him and he waited. He waited for what felt like an hour before he finally moved, finally got away from the bloody body beside him.**

**He checked once more to make sure no one was there before sneaking out of the room. His destination? Sakura's classroom, and he prayed that she would be alive.**

* * *

Gaara

* * *

"Sakura!"

The pink haired girl paused and turned to face her friend.

"Yeah?" she asked, adjusting the strap to her bag. "What's up?"

Gaara jogged up to meet her, gripping her upper arms harshly.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" he hissed. "And when did you learn how to punch like that?"

Sakura rolled her eyes and tried to shake him off, but his grip only tightened. Her eyes narrowed slightly.

"I'm skipping. I'm just going into the library," she explained. "I want to catch up on some reading, _alone_. I'll see you later. I promise."

"Since when have _you_ been so depressed?" he asked, letting go of her arms to glare at her.

She returned the glare tenfold.

"Since when has it ever been any of _your_ business?" she countered with a shove.

"Since I haven't seen you in five years!" he bellowed.

"Deal with it, then! I'm not telling you where I was!" she yelled back. "It doesn't concern you!"

"It does when you're in danger!"

She growled in frustration, shoving him again.

"I'm not in danger, goddamnit!" she screamed. "I can take care of myself! I can protect myself! Stop treating me like I'm still weak!! I'm not anymore!"

"Shouldn't the two of you be in class right now?" a voice sneered behind them.

* * *

Sakura

* * *

Sakura froze midshove though her glare never lessened. Neither student responded to the intruder though they turned to look at who the person was invading their fight. Sakura recognized the face as one of the many she had seen the day before at the Uchiha home. Gaara knew immediately who the one who had spoken was, but more older boys were smirking menacingly down at the two of them from behind the one who had addressed them. Although Sakura didn't know what those boys were capable of, she knew what the looks on their faces meant and what could possibly be in store for her and Gaara.

'_A negative, 'in store', of course._'

'Shit...'

"Hey Pinky, why don't you get back to class so us men can have a conversation?" the towering grey-skinned boy said, nodding his head as if to hint for her to leave while the other boys around him spread around Sakura and Gaara, circling them.

Sakura narrowed her eyes at the boy and shook her head defiantly. Gaara took a protective step closer to Sakura and was close enough to touch her hand with his.

"Go on back to class, Sakura," he commanded. "I'll handle things here."

Sakura spun on her heel and looked at Gaara incredulously.

"You against six of these guys?" she cried skeptically. "Come on," she lowered her voice to a whisper, "stall them until the bell rings, and then we can run. Don't fight when it isn't necessary, Gaara."

A weight suddenly slammed onto Sakura's shoulder and before she knew what was happening, she was being pulled away from Gaara in a flash and her body was being pinned to the wall by someone else who was undeniably masculine. Her vision snapped up to meet the violet eyes of a boy she hadn't seen the night before. His hair was silver and slicked back and the color only seemed to increase the intimidating gaze his eyes held. Sakura began to squirm, hoping it would be enough to be released, but the boy's grip tightened.

"Hidan, take her somewhere else," someone commanded, "and don't be _too_ rough with her," he added as an afterthought, chuckling.

'Too rough?'

"Don't you _fucking **touch**_ her!" Gaara growled.

Violet eyes rolled in mild annoyance in front of her.

"First you won't let me beat that little shit up, and now I can't even have some fun?" he complained.

"I never said you couldn't have fun," the man repeated, "but to please keep it at a maximum of X, please."

'_Oh hell no! This asswipe is _**not**_ going to rape us!_'

Hidan sighed placed his hands on her waist. Immediately Sakura's hands shot down to push them off of her yet his grip only tightened once again.

"Let go of me," she hissed, fixing him with her deadliest glare.

He merely cocked his head to the side, fixing _her_ a look she was sure would've left any female short of breath from the sheer sexiness it conveyed. However, Sakura wasn't entirely sure if he was simply joking at first, but that look cleared all doubts from her mind. He wouldn't care if he raped her or not, but he wasn't joking. He was actually planning on it. At her mind's final understanding of the situation, she began to thrash wildly, fingernails biting deeply into his wrists.

He began laughing.

_Laughing!_

"Love, you've no _clue_ how much better you're making this for me." He leaned forward, then, and pressed his lips to Sakura's ear. "The pain is such a _thrill_ for me, and even if you don't submit now, you will soon."

"Hidan!"

With a final sigh, Hidan stepped back, giving Sakura a false sense of a chance to attack before she was spun around, cheek pressed against the wall. She couldn't make a sound from the surprise of it all before she found herself flopped over Hidan's shoulder. This was the first _real_ chance she had of doing some damage.

"**Sakura**!" Gaara shouted, lunging after her.

Sakura watched as the group closed in on him, and that was all as she was taken around the corner and towards the elevator halfway down the hall. She refused to scream -it was _only_ her virginity on the line, after all- because she knew it would make him happy, one, and two, because she would deal with this bastard on her own. That didn't, however, stop her from slamming her fists into his spine when she felt his hand creeping under her skirt and up the inside of her thigh as they arrived to the elevator.

She snapped her legs shut and the moment he pressed the button, a ding was heard, indicating the elevator's arrival. Where was he taking her? Was he seriously stupid enough to take the elevator? He walked in once the doors opened and dropped Sakura onto her feet. She immediately made a run for the exit but Hidan shoved her against the wall, caging her in with his arms and giving her _that_ look again. The metal doors began to close and Hidan reached into his pocket for something.

'If that's what I think it is...'

He turned for but a moment to the panel of buttons and Sakura wasn't sure if she should take him seriously. Did _he_ trust her enough to know she wouldn't try anything or was his ego so damn big he figured she had already fallen for his charm?

'_Don't make us gag!_'

But he turned around and was pressed against her by the time the elevator doors shut and Sakura craned her head over his shoulder, brows furrowed. A piece of tape was placed tightly on the button to make the doors close.

'Shit.'

'_Double shit._'

"Now, we have a limited amount of time before we reach our destination."

"Where are you taking me?" Sakura asked almost tonelessly, looking back at him.

"Nowhere you'd know," Hidan replied vaguely, one hand coming up to stroke her cheek, studying her reaction to see how she forced herself not to flinch.

"There are certain places teachers go to check often because students skip," Sakura explained.

"Where do you get off telling me about bad skipping hide-outs when you've been here for a day?" he teased, lowering his face so his lips were laying pseudo affectionate kisses along the column of her throat.

"Where do _you_ get off raping innocent girls when you're obviously attractive enough to have a fanclub greater than the Uchihas'?" she countered quietly.

"Aren't you creative," he mumbled, pulling away from her slightly to stare down at her.

She raised a brow at him, hearing a ding from the elevator before the light flickered at 1 and disappeared as they began moving up again.

"I've been told so," she replied sourly, even though she knew it was a rhetorical question.

"Feel free to blame it on my...religion, I suppose," he began.

"What religion could possibly allow something like _this_?"

"When pleasure is your religion, it allows room for anything that brings it and justifies all actions according to obtaining that which brings one pleasure," he explained, tracing his thumb over her lower lip.

Another ding from the elevator.

She looked at him skeptically.

'What's on the third floor?'

"Fear and pain bring me a thrill," he continued, "and pain inflicted be_cause_ of fear brings me pleasure."

"So why do you have to rape a girl when she's already going to fight back to prevent it from happening?" she asked, disgust written clearly across her face.

"Because," he paused. "The further I go, the more they fight back, and the more desperate they become to save themselves."

And she didn't have time to reply before his lips came crashing down onto hers. His hands slid into her hair, snatching fistfuls and pressing himself more tightly against her, messing up her hair. She was stuck for a few moments, caught completely off guard when it seemed stupid that she had let herself become that way. The final ding let out the signaled their arrival to the third floor and he pulled away, smirking, leaving a heavily breathing Sakura.

"I'm quite disappointed in you," he said. "I was expecting you to fight back a little more."

Sakura took in a deep breath, evening out her breathing, before she cocked her head to the side and a dark grin became plastered over her lips.

"Oh don't worry. I intend to fight back right now."

He barely dodged her fist aimed for his head, one hand finding her throat and the other arm jerking out to grasp her wrist but reaching her shirt instead, tugging down on it and ripping the material down the center. The door began to open and he never saw her knee raising to meet his stomach. At his loosened grip around her wrist and his momentary weakness, she bolted out of the elevator, escaping after one of his nails scratched a line on the side of her neck. She made a sharp turn to run down the hall, ignoring her smeared lipstick and the way the rest of her looked as she continued racing to get to the stairs before the bell ra-

Bring! Bring! Bring! Bring!

"Shit!" she cursed, speeding up.

She was forced to weave in and out of the students going up and down the stairs. Teachers yelled for her to slow down and to stop running but she refused to when Gaara was in danger. She finally reached the basement and ran smack dab into a small crowd of students, all watching the fight. Sakura pushed and shoved kids left and right to get to the front, squirming through the group as more students came to watch. When she got out she raced forward a few steps to the first back she could see and fell into a crouch, swinging her leg out and ramming it into the legs of the boy, taking his legs out from beneath him.

As he came tumbling down, she pushed onto his shoulders, leap-frogging into her next offensive position beside another guy she didn't recognize from the night before. His attention pulled off of Gaara and was put onto her.

"How-?"

Sakura's fist crashed into his cheek, catching the corner of his mouth and reopening the cut she had from the day before, sending him stumbling backwards and then flying into the crowd. More students gathered around and some even began to cheer her on, others who knew Gaara crying out for him, too. She saw a green blur racing towards her and she froze, preparing to block onto to see Lee diving into the fight and taking out two of the remaining three attackers with a roundhouse kick and a punch to each. Gaara's final attacker met his knee crushed into his groin and Sakura raced to his side, barely remembering that there had started out to be six men and minus Hidan, there _had_ been five, but there were six attacking Gaara.

Gaara had a bloody nose and a split lip. His breathing was labored and Sakura could see he wasn't moving his left arm at all. Sakura wrapped an arm around Gaara's waist to help lift him up but she was suddenly pushed away by his good arm. She let out a cry when she hit ground harshly, looking at him with a confused gaze.

It was at that exact moment that a few teachers burst through the crowd of students and decided to break it up so they could assess the damage done. Sakura looked up at the teachers hatefully. The noise they had to have made, hadn't anyone heard?

But what made her scared suddenly was the fact that_ Hidan _was following Anko, talking about something and nursing his wounded midsection. He continuously pointed at Gaara and Lee, and Sakura knew something was terribly wrong when he pointed at her and then to her bloodied hand.

And her messy hair.

And her smeared lipstick.

And the faintly bleeding mark on her neck.

And her ripped shirt.

Sakura's eyes widened. It didn't take a genius to figure out what Hidan was telling Anko and she knew how probable it was that he would get his way, too. She was suddenly being lifted up by someone she couldn't see and more teachers were flooding in and taking hold of Lee and Gaara.

"No, no!!" she cried out, struggling against whoever it was holding her, but the man holding her leaned down and talked to her soothingly.

"It's ok, Sakura," he said, and Sakura recognized the voice as Genma's. "You'll be safe now. We've got the police waiting upstairs and-"

"NO!" she screamed. "They didn't do anything!!!"

"Sakura-"

"Ask the people watching the _fight_! They were defending themselves! I swear they didn't do anything!!"

"Get her away from them, Genma-sensei," Anko said. "Get to your classes! There's nothing to see here! Go on!" she shouted suddenly, shooing away the lingering students gathered around them all.

Sakura looked at Gaara desperately, whispering his name. She shook her head but he avoided her gaze.

'What the fuck is wrong with these people?!'

She thrashed around, struggled, did what she could but no matter how desperate she became to get her teacher to let go of her, Genma held on tight and barely moved with Sakura's constantly shifting body, as if he'd done this before all his life and he knew how to keep still. She fought against him more when four policemen took Gaara and Lee away and she threatened to kill Hidan before she even realized he was gone. Once she did, she stopped and Genma's grip loosened.

"Sakura?"

She shook her head.

"Why would you take them away...why would you arrest the people who saved me?" she whispered in rage, fists clenched.

"The signs clearly say-"

"Have you _seen_ Hidan!" she cried, pressing her back harder against Genma. "You're all corrupt!!"

"Anko-sensei said-"

"She's the most corrupt of you all!"

"Sakura, she's just trying to hel-"

"Anko-"

"Anko_-sensei­-"_

"The woman doesn't de_serve_ to be called a teacher!!" Sakura yelled, ripping away from Genma's grasp, glaring at him. "And neither do you if you're going to believe her bullshit!"

"Sakura!"

"NO! Don't you **dare** 'Sakura!' _me_! You've got it lodged into your skull that I was raped by Lee and Gaara, yet you have the au_dacity to disregard everything I'm saying!_ Isn't it your job to_ listen _to me and what I've got to say on my so-called '_rape_'?! The one who tried to rape me was given a free pass and a title of hero because this whole fucking system is corrupt by the Uchiha Clan!"

"**Sakura!**"

She'd had enough of this. He wasn't going to listen to her and she needed to save Gaara and Lee before they were sent to jail for something that never happened. She had no doubts that a trial wouldn't need to be held for the Uchiha's corruption would reach that high.

'This whole side thing has gotten to proportions I hadn't thought to be possible, and now I can understand why Gaara was so serious about this. It's not a game, it's not a joke, these guys are seriously out for blood to get me, but why am _I_ so important?'

'_Could they know-_'

'No, because they would've killed me already, right?'

Point being, Sakura wasn't going to stay and hear Genma's talk about remaining calm and all that crap he was trying to feed her. Without another word, she spun on her heel and raced down to the corner of the hall where the stairs were. She heard a shout come from Genma and she swore under her breath when she heard him run after her. She got to the stairs and sprinted up them, making it to the second set when Genma made it halfway up the first.

'Damn he's fast!'

'_Probably does it for a living, and besides, we felt his body, remember? An upper body like that-_'

'_Not_ helping me now!'

Sakura made it to the top of the stairs where she knew she would be faster at running. The main office was filled with police officers waiting for her, and she knew it because the moment they spotted her, they started shouting orders to get to her. There were men in suits, as well, to her right, eyeing her like she had a large bounty on her head. Genma was coming in behind her, the suited men were at her right, and the cops were at her left. Her only option was to either go up the next set of stairs or go straight and out of the building.

'No time for the stairs.'

'_Out we go!_'

She sprinted forward, narrowly dodging Genma, and slid down the banister a few feet away, landing on her feet and shoving the bar at the door, opening the door. She didn't stop there, only continued to run, and she ran straight into Hidan who seemed to have been expecting her. His hands brushed over her shoulders and when she jumped back, she saw his head cocked with a smirk in place on his face. He had no clue how badly she wanted to pummel him and how cruel whatever deity there was currently was for making her pick between beating the boy who got her friends arrested to a pulp and running from the people chasing after her.

"You look like you're going to need a ride," he offered.

"The second I'm safe your ass is mine."

"Ooo you're a dominant, really?"

Sakura's hand connected with his cheek making a loud smacking noise.

"Hurry the hell up and take me to your car, you idiot!"

"On one condition, love," Hidan proposed, rubbing his cheek absently while she raised a brow. "I get a real kiss from you later."

Sakura rolled her eyes and began to move for the stairs, _away_ from Hidan who simply shot his arm out to stop her.

"Goddamnit **what**!!!"

Hidan's hand encompassed Sakura's and he tugged her down the stairs that brought them out to the sidewalk. The two ran, her hand still being held by his, across the street to where a motorcycle was. Sakura looked at him incredulously.

"You can't expect me to get on that thing," she complained disgustedly.

"Sorry love but you're just going to have to trust me," Hidan said smugly. "Believe me, it's one of the things I can handle _real_ well."

Sakura ignored the blatant innuendo the statement held, nose wrinkling at the images conjured in her head.

"I was more worried about having to hold onto you," she clarified flatly. "I think I'll take my chances running."

Hidan was seated by the time she finished talking and he was pulling her down behind him.

"Sorry love, no time for that."

She heard him start up the motorcycle and barely had time to realize neither were wearing helmets before he took off. She shrieked and her arms snaked around his waist, clinging onto him tightly. She could _feel_ him laughing at her and wanted to hit him all the more but knew her life was dependent on this jerk. She would wait until they stopped for good after the signal ahead.

She wasn't sure what terrified her the most.

The fact that she had actually gotten onto this damn thing with _Hidan_.

Or..

The fact that the light ahead was on yellow and was turning red and Hidan _wasn't stopping_.

'I'm going to die before I get the chance to beat his ass,' she thought calmly.

She felt him speed up and unconsciously her grip became even tighter around him, all of her body against him now. She buried her head into his back and prayed for the first time since the massacre that she would survive. Needless to say, in a crisis something came to her aid, for she heard horns beeping but her body remained intact. Her eyes stayed closed, squeezed just as tightly as her hold on Hidan, but nothing else happened. They slowed down _some_, but not by much.

He moved expertly, weaving between cars and pedestrians smoothly despite the speed they were traveling at. He passed by more signals, racing through each without a single scratch or accident on the way. By the time they came to a stop a few minutes later -they had made an incredibly sharp turn- Sakura was still convinced they had been hit.

"I love how you feel around me but we're here."

Sakura didn't move at first, not believing him, but one he loosened her grip for her, she opened her eyes and pulled away entirely. They were in the driveway of _her_ house.

They were on stable ground.

They had stopped completely.

'He's dead.'

"What the hell is wrong with you you goddamn **idiot**!!" Sakura screeched, sliding off of the motorcycle and backing away from him.

"What's wrong with me? Hm, well there're a _lot_ of things wrong with me. Care to specify?"

"Fuck you!"

"What do you think I've been trying to get you to do, love? Now, lets go inside. There are some things that we need to discuss."

Sakura shook her head.

"The time I let you into my house is the time I beat you to a _pulp_ for framing my friends and nearly getting _me_ killed! AND for trying to rape _me_!"

"Well you've been doing it along the way so lets get going."

"Bastard," she muttered, reaching for the door handle at the side of her house. "You try _anything_ and you'll regret it."

'The only thing I'll regret is the fact that your mouth is still yapping,' he thought irritably.

She entered her house and held the door open for him, wary of his movements. He followed her in and immediately began to take in his new surroundings. He knew how new she was to the community and let out a long low whistle at how neatly everything was set up. It seemed like she had been there for months as opposed to a few days. Everything seemed unpacked as far as he could tell in the living room and the other rooms on that floor.

He vaguely heard her locking the door behind him before she moved past him, heading for the stairs.

"You owe me a new shirt, by the way," she called as she headed to the next floor. "And stay down there!" she shouted.

Hidan made a face as she disappeared and plopped down on a chair in the living room. Had she stayed on that floor to hear his response, he would've gladly offered her _his_ shirt but he wasn't too fond of getting hit again. He winced slightly as he rubbed his stomach. It didn't actually hurt, but it was still uncomfortable and a bruise would no doubt be there by the next day. Who would've thought a tiny thing like Sakura could hold her own in a fight?

And it was then that he remembered her hand. It had been bleeding when he was talking to Anko and he'd paid it no mind up until now. With a grin, he realized that even though he had been planning on being a good boy for a little while, an opportunity like _this_ was too good to pass up. He cleared his throat and straightened his shirt and made his way up the stairs, figuring he'd find her room fairly easily.

What he wasn't expecting to find was Sakura on her knees, bent as far to the floor as her body could go, rummaging through something under her bed. She'd gotten changed from her skirt into a pair of dark blue jeans that flared at the bottom and what he thought was a red spaghetti strap top. Her pink tresses were wet and he could see the exposed skin of her upper back and lower waist was moist from not being properly dried off.

'She's terrifyingly fast. A shower and a new set of clothes in only a few minutes?'

"Love, you've _got_ to stop being so damn tempting."

He watched with joy as her body tensed at his words. Slowly she drew her hands out from under the bed and began to straighten her back. Hidan walked over to her and crouched down beside her, smirking.

"Personally, I think you've taken a liking to me."

"Didn't I tell you to stay downstairs?" she asked calmly, glaring at him once she was sitting up entirely.

"I don't recall, however, I do remember you hurting yourself when you punched Kakuzu, and I'm being nice and offering to take care of it for you."

Sakura waved her injured hand in front of Hidan's face, showing off the bandages securely wrapped around it. She smiled victoriously at him.

"No need. I've already taken care of it!" she exclaimed cheerfully.

Sakura pushed herself off of the ground, a pair of red and black polka dotted socks clutched in her hand, and sat down on the bed. As she put the pieces of cloth on her feet, she made sure to violently aim a kick for Hidan's head every time his eyes remained on her feet for too long.

"I'm surprised you haven't figured it out yet," he said suddenly, looking down at his nails a pretending to inspect them.

Sakura looked at him awkwardly.

"Figured what out?"

"That I'm gay, naturally," he stated nonchalantly.

Sakura would've choked had she had something in her mouth. The last sock she had fell to the floor as she openly gawked at Hidan, mouth dropped open and eyes widened.

"It's rude to stare, you know," he teased, reaching a hand up and pushing the bottom of her jaw back up to the top, chuckling.

"You're fucking kidding me," she breathed out in awe, shaking her head. "_You_, of all the people in the world, can_not_ be..._gay_!"

His brows wrinkled with distaste.

"I don't particularly like your tone..."

"You tried to rape me, or do you have chronic memory loss, too?" she hissed sarcastically.

"I didn't do very much to uphold the fabricated reputation I was feeding you, correct?" he pointed out, raising a brow.

Sakura stared at him still, but she thought about what he was saying. When he had her pinned to the wall, he'd used his upper body, not his lower body, and his hands had been at her waist, not her hips. In the elevator, he'd touched her neck and cheek mostly, affectionately, eerily in an admiral sense, as well, not like he was lusting after her. And when he'd kissed her? No tongue at all, just lips. And when he'd grabbed her so she wouldn't escape, he never hit her. He captured her wrist and the side of her neck. He hadn't hit her like most would, and even though she had kneed him, it wouldn't have taken him to long to recover if he was used to fights like the ones in the basement.

"Oh my God...you're gay..." she finally admited.

Her face looked shocked still but within a few moments it cleared up and she grinned. Hidan didn't have time to ask what the look was for before he was pounced on.

"You have no idea how much I love you right now!!" she cried out, laughing as she ruffled his hair as best she could due to the gel used to slick it back.

"Does that mean I'm not going to get beat up by you?" he asked slowly, almost afraid.

"Naw, I'll get you back later," she said, maturing rather quickly once she remembered she still had Gaara and Lee to save. "However, I need to take care of my friends and Orochimaru is still back at school."

"I've got his cell, if you want?" Hidan offered, shrugging his shoulders.

"He would answer it class?"

Hidan nodded and reached into his pocket, fishing out a black phone with stickers on it and dialing a number, handing it off to Sakura. She took it quickly and within a couple of rings, Orochimaru answered in a nearly frantic voice.

"Hidan, where the _hell_ have you been!" Orochimaru yelled. "I've been waiting to hear from you for forever! No one can find Sakura, and she isn't safe with Itachi's idiot lackeys out making trouble. Any idea where she is?"

Sakura stared at Hidan and then pulled the phone away from her ear, hearing a faint "Hidan?" begin said before she looked at the phone, and then back at Hidan.

'He sounds worried?'

'_He hasn't even known us for a while and our charm has already worked!_'

'No, not worried, more like angry, an expectant angry sort of...'

"Orochimaru?" she said hesitantly.

"Sakura?" he nearly cried out.

"Orochimaru, I-"

"Where's Hidan?"

"He's with me. He took me home, but I need you to help me get Gaara and Lee out of whatever it is or wherever it is they are," Sakura explained hurriedly. "I need to help them and I thought you would be able to help me."

"I'll see what I can do, Sakura," he agreed, something that severely shocked Sakura.

He wasn't the kind of guy to just 'help' someone without knowing he'd be making something out of it. Even Sakura knew that.

"What do you want from _me_?" she asked cautiously.

"Agree to go on the field trip," he said nearly immediately. "It'll be fun, I promise. You'll learn a _lot_ about filming, too."

"That's it?" she quiered in disbelief.

"Yeah, that's it. So are you going to go or what?"

Sakura blinked and looked down at Hidan who had been staring at her innocently the entire conversation.

'Why not? It might be good to learn more about him.'

"Alright, but please make sure they're safe."

"After school, meet me when I get home and we'll talk. Believe me, they're safe until you testify, and you know they're innocent, so nothing will happen, I promise."

"Thank you, Orochimaru," she said, relieved, and hung up the phone, tossing it back to Hidan who fumbled with it in his hands before he caught it and stuffed it back into his pocket.

With a sigh, Sakura fell back down on her bed, and for some reason, feeling, being , and _saying_ the next question completely seriously, she asked, "So is Orochimaru your boyfriend?" and it never occurred to her what she'd actually said even after she'd said it.

* * *

Ah yes, the long, long, _long, long, **long**_ overdue chapter 3 of Playing With Fire. No real excuse apart from the fact that I screwed up my own system and started posting only chapters from Unfortunate Circumstances. Good news, though, apart from this chapter.

Anyone who has read Dirty Little Secret, my OroSaku story, and has been wishing and hoping for me to write a sequel, wish no more. The first chapter is done and is posted under a new account called backlashartemis. Why a new account? I'm cowriting it with Artemis and she and I bother agreed it would be more fair to write under a new account.

I finished writing you this chapter this past week because I was home sick for five days. I hope you enjoyed it enough to forgive me for such a lengthy delay.

This chapter was also really, really, really harsh. I'm considering raising the rating to M just because of all of the rape talk and swearing in this chapter.

And I know, those of you who are Hidan obsessees like myself are sharpening your knives right now for me making him homosexual. But come on people, in our world they're either playboys or out of our reach, and I chose to make him gay because I've got every right to, one, and two, because he's too damn sexy to remain strait without me changing the pairing to HidanSakura. And you can also thank the movie Wedding Wars, too. I thought it was amazing, but I'm a sucker for activist stuff and rights and all that fun rebellious revolting work.

However, we now know that yes, Hidan is gay. Sakura is seeking help from Orochimaru to save Gaara and Lee who have been framed for Sakura's alleged rape. And, last but not least, Sakura is being persuaded to go on the field trip by Orochimaru by means of an exchange.

**Next chapter:**

**With Orochimaru's help, Sakura retrieves Gaara and Lee from the police without a mark on their records. Lee is picked to take first watch at Sakura's home. Kabuto shares the long awaited news with Sakura, leaving her to deal with her past issues even more than before. The list of everyone going on the field trip is posted, and Gaara isn't going. The field trip to hell begins. Orochimaru finally gets time to be with Sakura, the reasons behind his methods I'll leave to your imaginations for now.**

Please remember to review! Thanks, till later!

Backlash Symphony


	4. On a Mission

Story Title: Playing With Fire

Chapter Title: On a Mission

Pairing: OroSakuG

Rating: T (some swearing)

Author: Backlash Symphony

Summary: Sakura, a survivor of the Massacre five years ago, is now at KAVPA. She had a job to do but found herself torn between keeping Gaara's friendship and following the perilous tempting path of Orochimaru, the son of the mobster who arranged the Massacre. OSG

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Do you think I'd be writing this stuff if I did? Didn't think so.

Extra: Blech. That's how I feel right now about taking so freaking long to write a new chapter. Uh, listen to "Already Over" by Red, "You Only Live Once" by The Strokes, "Bite the Hand That Feeds" by Nine Inch Nails, and "Disturbia" by Rihanna.

**Anime. Bands. Hot Topic. Of course they'll be in there. If you see animes or bands listed, don't flip out on me. They need to be there. It's AU afterall. Zabuza is Sakura's friend. He's three years older than she is.**

Text means normal writing.

'Text' means thoughts.

_'Text'_ mean Inner Sakura's thoughts.

**Text **means flashback.

* * *

Sakura set the ham sandwich in front of Gaara, eyeing the sling his arm was in. She moved to the fridge to pour him a glass of milk. She heard him eating behind her and closed the fridge once the glass was almost to the top. She took a sip as she brought it over to him and took a seat beside him.

Thankfully, he had gotten out of the police station easily, thanks to Orochimaru's clout there. He had gotten a free ride to the hospital where they fixed up his arm and wrote him a prescription for pain pills. He had a very minor sprain that might not have even been as serious as a sprain, and would be better in a few weeks.

They hadn't had to pay a thing to the hospital.

"Why did you take the blame for it, Gaara?" Sakura tried to ask for the third time that day.

Gaara simply fixed her with a stare, took a bite of his sandwich, and went back to listening to the sound of the television in the living room where Naruto, Lee, and Shikamaru were sitting.

Sakura sighed in annoyance. She should give up on the whole thing because he wouldn't answer her. Once he finished his sandwich, she knew Shikamaru and Naruto would drive Gaara back to his apartment and leave Lee to watch over her for the night.

Sakura was _not_ looking forward to that.

* * *

The crinkle of the paper landing on her head was enough to pull her from her zoning. Slanted jade eyes widened in surprise as her teacher's lean body knocked into her shoulder. She had the gut feeling he had done it on purpose for not paying attention to the last fifteen minutes of his lecture when all she wanted to do was work on her animation.

And sleep. Definitely sleep. Sakura would remember to give Gaara a clear, stern talking to about Lee spending the night with her. As in, she would either commit suicide or straight out murder the spandex-clad boy if she had to let him stay another night.

Lee had woken her up _every. Hour._ Midnight. One am. Two am. Three am. Four am. Five am. His reason for waking her up? Fire drills! Natural dis_aster_ drills! Mugging drills! Gun drills! Once he woke her at 5, he had taken her on a six mile run. No water, no running shoes, no changing. He grabbed her in her pjs, and off they went. Six miles. She hadn't even _seen_ six miles of the city since she'd gotten back the previous week.

Gaara was still stuck in the Security Office, however, which meant that she had to deal with all of the Uchiha children (minus Sasuke) and their note-passing and whispering.

What, were they in junior high or something?

Disregarding her thoughts, Sakura bothered to lift a heavily ring covered hand to pull the piece of paper from her head and place it down in front of her long enough to look at what it said.

Skimming over the short paragraph, she contemplated crumpling the page and tossing it for three points into the trash can but voted against her "better judgment". Once she allowed her eyes to wander over the words printed on the page, she finally understood that this was a list of all the students who would be attending the field trip in two days.

She easily spotted her name and Orochimaru's name. Tayuya was listed (big surprise there) along with Itachi and about thirteen other students whose names she hadn't taken the time to learn to match with a face. Gaara's name was awkwardly missing from the list, however, which made her a bit nervous.

Had Orochimaru asked her to go on the trip because he knew that Gaara wasn't going? Or maybe he knew that Gaara wouldn't be able to because of all this trouble with school? Either way, Orochimaru was definitely up to something trying to get her alone with him and a bunch of his so-called friends.

And Tayuya. God, she was such a whore. Sakura wanted nothing more than to sock her another one right in the face and knock her out for the whole two days they were supposed to be gone for.

And what was she supposed to do about Gaara? There was no way she would be able to get him to let her go for those two days without someone there to keep an eye on her. Besides, it wasn't like he could just sneak on the bus or something!

Sakura let out a groan and allowed her head to fall forward and slam onto the cold wooden desk beneath her. The loud cracking sound alerted Orochimaru who immediately turned in his chair and gave Sakura's soft pink hair a tentative stroke.

"What did I tell you about touching me when we first met?" came the muffled grumble of Sakura's hell-cat attitude.

"I don't recall you telling me anything. I remember meeting you when my mother asked me to bring you over for dinner since you were new to the neighborhood," Orochimaru explained, a smug smirk on his face.

Sakura mumbled something incoherent into the nook of her elbow and Orochimaru was almost positive it wasn't something one would say in front of their grandmother. He removed his fingers from her hair just as Sakura tilted her head to rest on her upper arm, settling the older boy with an irritated yet exhausted stare. Orochimaru nearly laughed at the messily strewn chunks of her hair that covered sections of her face, demoting what would have been a powerful expression into something tamer and disgruntled and somehow satisfied.

He wouldn't say it to her face, nor would he admit it to Itachi (who he was positive was thinking the same thing as he watched her from the corner of his eye), but if he added a bit more sweat and maybe a little smudged eyeliner, he could see this being the look Sakura would have as she lay beside him on his bed, naked beneath his silk sheets and down comforter and warm against his own bare side.

"I would hit you if I weren't so darn tired right now," Sakura whispered.

Orochimaru chuckled, exposing his two perfect rows of glistening white teeth, complete with four beautiful fangs.

"I know you would!"

"Considering that no one seems to be listening to me any longer, I suppose I'll have to let you all go work on your projects," Genma interrupted with a long, dramatic sigh.

At those words, any rest Sakura thought of getting escaped from her mind as she perked up. As if she hadn't even been tired beyond belief to begin with, she was sitting up and then she was across the room and at the computer which she had designated as her own. A glance at her screen showed the flash program open and dozens of brightly colored lines were being drawn out, the rosette-haired teen sculpting her animation into a masterpiece.

Itachi leaned over the side of the desk, tapping his adopted brother on the shoulder. Orochimaru glanced over his shoulder at Itachi, the smirk on their faces speaking more loudly and clearly than any words.

"Round 2 should be exciting, ne?"

* * *

The crick in her neck wasn't pleasant in the slightest. She had long ago abandoned her bag, letting it rest on the floor beside her legs so that she could use her hands to try and crack the bones in her neck to give her some relief. It seemed that her neck just didn't want to crack this early in the morning, nor did her bag want to stay on the floor. Regardless of those facts, Sakura knew she had to crack something otherwise she'd be terribly uncomfortable this entire trip.

Her fist pressed her chin to the left harshly, trying to shock the crack out of her neck, to no avail. Her neck was just as stubborn as she was.

The other students were milling around her, bags in hand, facial expressions a blend of the excitement of missing two days of school, the anxiety of the amount of work they would do on this field trip, and the exhaustion of having to be at the school by 7:30, half an hour before school even started, so that they could be on the buses by 7:45 and arrive at the film camp by 9.

Sakura knew that Gaara would flip a shit if he found out she was going on this field trip. She had made Genma promise and swear on his PlayGirl career ("Which never existed") that he wouldn't tell Gaara. So Gaara was left out of the loop and wouldn't find out that Sakura was gone until it was too late to forbid her from going.

Thankfully, Neji was a heavy sleeper and her getting ready and packing that morning was made much simpler due to it.

Genma walked through the doors of the room moments after her memories of the morning passed through her head. Sipping a cup of coffee and struggling with a bag that was nearly as big as he was, he whistled loud enough to get the attention of Sakura and her classmates, quieting them.

"The buses are here so step to it."

Sakura raised a brow. That was extremely anticlimactic. She was expecting maybe a threat to behave or perhaps a wink in her direction, but no, absolutely nothing else.

Genma turned around and headed up the stairs. With a shrug, Sakura bent down to take hold of her bag, slipping the long strap over her chest, and slid into the crowd of students following behind their sensei.

The last thing on her mind was the suspicious absences of Orochimaru and Itachi. She idly wondered if they wouldn't be coming and therefore she wouldn't have to deal with them for an entire two da-

"Glad you could grace us with your presence, Sakura."

'Ugh. Thought too soon.'

"My neck hurts. I'm tired. Leave me alone."

And Sakura wove through the classmates ahead of her as she increased her pace, planting her right next to her perverted sensei. They made it to the first floor before Genma nudged her shoulder with his elbow. Sakura nudged right back. He winked down at her. Sakura slowed down and fell a few steps behind the older man. His body shook slightly with silent laughter. The corner of Sakura's lip quirked up.

Through the front doors, down the stairs, across the sidewalk, and onto the Greyhound. Single file, pushing, shoving, chattering.

Sakura took a seat in the far back where there wasn't a window. She didn't need any pesky light stealing her sleep. She plopped down on the cushion and set her bag down against the side of the bus. Immediately she laid down on the seat, taking up the entire space.

She heard students piling into other seats, pairing up and settling down for the trip. Sakura knew that, at some point on the bus ride, those same chattering kids would eventually fall asleep. And speaking of sleep, she was about to do that now.

Her eyelids descended over her emerald orbs, blocking out the blues and grays of the bus's interior. Snuggling into her bag a bit more, she felt her senses blacking out to let her sleep.

"Haruno!"

Sakura grimaced.

'Damn freakin' teacher…'

"Presently sleeping, sensei," she bellowed. "And refusing communication if no one respects it."

"Maybe this will teach you to get to sleep on time," Genma responded with a smirk that Sakura couldn't see. "Instead of going out and partying?"

Sakura's lips quirked into a naughty smile as she sat up, dangling her arms over the back of the seat ahead of her. She stared directly at her teacher.

"You're only jealous because you're not hip enough to blend with my crowd, _sensei_."

A scattered collection of 'ooh's and 'burn!'s filled the bus. The smirk on Genma's face twitched slightly, but he had a retort ready.

"I beg to differ, Haruno. Other girls your age seem to think I'm most definitely 'hip enough' to _blend_."

While most of the other kids on the bus believed that to be a lame comeback, the rest were chuckling at the gutter-minded meaning his words held. Sakura comprehended the meaning beneath those words and her face flushed into a bright red. Sakura sank back into her own seat, the sound of Genma's victorious laughter ringing in her ears. Eventually everyone moved back to their conversations and Genma continued to do role call.

Sakura curled back up into her ball and grudgingly fell asleep.

* * *

About an hour later, something of medium weight collided with her head, jolting her from the deliciously satisfying sleep she had been in. Jade peeked out from beneath slit eyelids.

"Who the hell threw that?" she growled, flopping groggily into a sitting position.

Nobody said anything to her. Most people simply ignored her. She took in her surroundings and spotted Orochimaru and Itachi sitting on the other side of the bus, two seats ahead of her. Sharing an iPod with his brother, Itachi had his eyes closed while Orochimaru leaned against the window, body turned to face the aisle.

A scowl formed on Sakura's face at the innocence the two boys held in their poses. She could actually believe that neither of them had something to do with whatever it was that had hit her. Speaking of which, Sakura couldn't see what it was that had made the impact with her head. And on that note, Sakura realized her head was beginning to throb.

Groaning, she closed her eyes once more, blaming Tayuya for hitting her seeing as it was the most probable solution, and let herself return to her slumber.

* * *

When she woke for the third time, it was due to the almost violent shaking of her body from a separate party. Cracking an eye open, she was met with the vibrant golden gaze of Orochimaru, bent over her, dark hair a curtain around his ghastly pale skin.

"We're here, come on and grab your stuff."

Sakura sighed loudly and pushed herself up, swatting the hand that was on her shoulder.

"I'm up," she muttered. "Unfortunately."

Shouldering her bag, she arched her back to quickly crack her spine, watching Orochimaru's back as he caught up with the line of students heading for the exit of the bus. She wasted no time getting to her feet and following the rest of her classmates, noting the surroundings were nothing more than woods and cabins.

Two things came to her mind at that moment. The first was the image of Tayuya getting bit by a poisonous snake, right on the ass, and it would be such a repulsive part of her that no one would try to suck the poison out, leaving her to die painfully. The second thought was the sheer amount of toilet paper she could imagine being used to tee-pee the boys.

And speaking of toilet paper, where were the bathrooms? As she moved down the steps of the bus, she found that there wasn't a bathroom or outhouse in sight.

'_They better not be expecting us to piss in the woods! We will __**not**__ stand for it!'_

Tightening her grip on her bag, Sakura stumbled to the dirt path next to the bus and followed the line of students.

"Thank God I packed bug spray."

* * *

"So you've got your cabin numbers, your keys, all of your equipment, and your meal cards. Anyone with a question can stay behind, but the rest of you may leave."

With Genma's final words, Sakura and ninety-six percent of the rest of the class grabbed their items and hauled ass away from their perverted sensei and his teacher posse.

"Lunch is at noon, don't forget!" Genma cried out suddenly. "And I expect those shots to be made by then!"

Sakura swore she could hear him mutter something along the lines of "unmotivated lazy bastards" but she couldn't be too sure. Not that she really cared much, anyways. He was an unmotivated, lazy bastard. And she had an appointment with what she hoped to be a nice bed.

'At least I'm not rooming with Tayuya.'

Most of the boys were shacking up together, around four to a cabin. There were seventeen students there, Sakura being lucky number seventeen. Two cabins were set aside for the boys, one for the four girls aside from Sakura, one for their instructors, and a single cabin for lonely ol' Sakura.

The pinkette stifled a laugh as she looked at her cabin. Her thoughts were something along the lines of the Lindsay Lohan version of The Parent Trap.

"Sweet freedom, here I come!"

She pushed her key into the door and unlocked it, twisting the knob and forcing the door open. She allowed her things to fall to the floor while she surveyed the room and took out her key. A whistle escaped her lips once she saw that she had four beds all to herself. There were windows at each of the other three walls, some nails sticking from random planks of wood, plus a few shelves at each corner.

Giving her things a good shove with her foot, she could immediately visualize how much fun she would have once she put all four beds side to side.

* * *

Sakura wiped a bead of sweat from her brow, simultaneously licking another from her upper lip. A few hours earlier, the weather had been bright and sunny but blissfully windy. Now it was almost 11:40, twenty minutes to lunch, and the wind had cowered away, the sun had gotten more bold, and the humidity had decided to step up to the plate to bat.

Sakura could have dealt with the humidity if she didn't have to lug around a camera and tripod that weighed more than her head. Er, more than her _bag_. For this particular shot, she wanted to get a perfect angle of the tree where they would all meet for meals and discussions. It had this peculiar pattern the bark was forming, and for some reason it grew at an increased rate, so anything attached to the tree would eventually be covered with bark within months.

'_If only it were that easy to cover stuff up in our lives._'

'Bringing that up right now isn't something I'm interested in doing, thanks.'

Sakura finished getting the final shots she needed and cleaned up just as Genma and some of her classmates began arriving for lunch. Sakura switched the power off and removed the battery, pocketing it. Genma tossed her a white cardboard box which she caught easily.

"Thanks," she offered with a smile.

Sakura learned a very important lesson as she sat down behind the tree to begin eating. When it was important, people would be late and have an excuse for everything. But when it came to food, you'd better believe that 'fashionably early' was the new style, and kids who didn't even know what punctuality meant were beating punctuality to the spot.

She was enjoying her apple in solitude, ignoring the mindless chatter of the students behind her and basking in the shadows the tree cast, when Orochimaru plopped down next to her. She chewed as if he wasn't even invading her bubble.

She heard him rustling through his cardboard lunch, watching him from the corner of her eye. He produced an apple from his box and set it down next to him. All of Sakura's attention went to his apple which appeared to be out of his range of foods he deemed edible.

With a half chewed piece of apple in her mouth, stuffed all the way back in one cheek, she pointed a dark green fingernail towards Orochimaru's apple and asked, "Are you gonna eat that?"

He raised a brow to her question, his expression describing she could shoot the apple or turn it into a bomb and he wouldn't care.

"Do you want your brownie?" he queried, eyeing her dessert with the most intensity she had ever seen a male use towards chocolate.

Sakura made a face of disgust and snatched his apple. She swallowed her bite and muttered, "It has _peanuts_. Those things are **nasty!**"

He shrugged and pulled her brownie from her cardboard box, and the two teens ate peacefully, Sakura with enough fruit to make Mogli jealous, and Orochimaru with enough brownies to make a Girl Scout throw a temper tantrum.

* * *

Their next assignment for that afternoon was to scratch already exposed film at the pond a half a mile away from their cabins. Trying to move seventeen teenagers who had just eaten through this stifling humidity and heat had to have been one of the worst moves Genma-sensei had _ever_ made.

It didn't help that she and Orochimaru were walking next to one another and Tayuya wouldn't stop hanging off of him, whining about how hot it was and how she thought she would pass out.

Seven minutes of her incessant complaining and Sakura finally snapped.

"Look on the bright side, Tayuya. If you pass out, you won't have to worry about ruining your nails doing actual work."

The orange-haired girl wanted to make a snide remark but instead replied with a not-so-nice smile.

Needless to say, Sakura wasn't expecting silence from Tayuya. Apparently, neither was Orochimaru. The two exchanged glances but Sakura rolled her eyes and kept on walking.

By the end of five more minutes, the pond was in sight. All the students were sweat-slicked and tired. Sakura wasn't sure how her teachers weren't dragging themselves like the rest of her class was. As she got nearer to the water, however, her creativity wiped out most of her negative thoughts.

"Now, you guys have two hours to work on these. Then we'll head back, spice these up a bit, and then head off to dinner. No pushing, splashing, or anything that involves getting anything that _isn't_ your film wet. If you break that rule, I'll stick you on the roof of the abandoned cabin off in the woods where the sunlight directly hits."

It really wasn't much of a threat, but Sakura knew she certainly did _not_ want to deal with any more heat for the rest of the day. She settled herself at the edge of the pond where a cluster of rocks formed a slope into the murky water. A tadpole swam away once she dropped her film into the water.

She knew that the emulsion (the part of the film that the picture formed on) would get weaker if wet. No sense in get cut up for a practice project, right? Right.

The students split themselves into groups. Kids they were friends with and hung out with moved to separate locations. Itachi and Orochimaru moved closer to the trees than the pond, deciding to scratch on the bark first. Sakura smiled slightly. The two may act like they had no ability to create anything, but if they stopped to do something, they really could make a beautiful piece of work.

The minutes crept by and people were moving around, copying positions and ideas from their peers. Of course, there was the group who just sat and did nothing, namely Tayuya and a girl named Karin. More time passed by and Sakura was noticing that while her work was coming to an end, other people were just quitting from the heat and moving to join the two girls who were sitting in the shade of a tree, talking as if they had something important to say.

Sakura put the finishing touches on her film by rubbing it against the rocky shore in clumps. As she began to rinse off the stubborn emulsion, a series of whistles and cat calls erupted from the area where Tayuya and Karin had been attracting a crowd. Glancing over, Sakura saw that the noise had been made for quite the reason:

Tayuya and Karin were stripping to their underwear. No, wait, their _bikinis_.

'They've been preparing for this the whole day, I'll bet!'

Sakura's face contorted in disgust. Did these girls _really_ have to make themselves out like that? It was one thing to say they were hot, dip their clothes in the water and put them back on, but to strip like they were professional pole dancers? Now _that_ was going too far, and it wasn't a joke either. They looked like they meant every movement.

A quick glance meters in the distance showed her teachers sitting under a tree, chatting it all up and paying no attention whatsoever to the class.

'Typical.'

As Sakura was about to go back to rinsing her film, she caught a look at Orochimaru's attention focused solely on Tayuya, and she froze. Now, Sakura thought the eldest Uchiha was a jerk and a fake and a playboy, so she never really had any substantial amount of respect for him. But watching him undress Tayuya and Karin in his mind and stare at them with all the intensity he'd had focused on her brownie, well, Sakura almost felt offended.

Scratch that: She _**was**_ offended.

If two of the school's biggest Easy Passes could make such a big display with their skanky clothes and whore-ish make-up, then Sakura found no reason why she couldn't with her mostly modest attire and bright make-up. There was only one problem with that.

Sakura didn't _have_ a bikini on underneath her clothes.

She was wearing regular underwear. A bra and panties. The things girls were su_pposed_ to wear beneath their clothes on a regular basis. She wasn't known for her reaction to other people, per say, but she was doing her damnedest to keep her clothes on. She would let them make a fool of themselves because eventually she was sure they would.

Tayuya's eye caught hers, however, and the look of victory, her soaking up everyone's gazes, all twisted into the most awful smirk Sakura had ever seen on anyone's face. And then she mouthed 'pathetic little bitch', and Sakura was _done_.

Fuming, the pink-haired girl, glaring with the eyes of the devil, rose to her feet in one swift movement, film crumpled in hand, and stomped over to a tree near her, mouthing in response, 'You're on, tramp.' Tossing her film over a branch, she quickly began unbuttoning her plaid top as she walked toward her rival.

The girl was tightening the straps to her already too-tiny bikini top, pushing up the decent chest she had to make it appear three times larger. Two could play this game. Shirt unbuttoned, Sakura wasted no time working on the button and zipper of her jeans. Fifteen feet from the group crowded around Tayuya who had just announced she and Karin would be sunbathing, someone noticed that Sakura was coming towards them.

Then another. And another. And when half the group of boys began to turn their attention toward the stripping, fuming new girl, Tayuya noticed the mistake she had so foolishly made. Beneath the button-up top and zip-up jeans and the Chuck Taylor's, that now lay in a pile behind Sakura, was the defeat of Tayuya's large breasts and Karin's tiny waist.

She was clad in a bra that lacked the famous push-up underwire that fit perfectly to the curves of her chest and back, and panties that had a slight leg to them, tight around her waist and backside but loose at her thighs. The bra had a pink background with black stars, while the underwear had only pink and black plaid. Her breasts were modest, on the border of an A and a B-cup.

But the part that made her put Tayuya and Karin to shame was the shape her body was in. Her arms were toned, perfectly in proportion to the rest of her; her legs were muscled and displayed all the signs of a runner; her stomach showed faint indents of muscle beneath the skin. She was in perfect shape.

Hands on her hips, all attention focused solely on her, Sakura cocked her head and raised a brow at Tayuya.

"So, who's up for a swim?" Sakura called out.

Not expecting an answer, she turned on her heel and took off running at the pond. Once the water reached her ankles, she dove into the air and formed a ball, landing with a giant splash seven feet away. The spray collided with the entire group that had been around Tayuya, and Sakura couldn't _wait_ for the girl to finally back off.

As Sakura surfaced, she was met with a cool gust of air, cooling her off even more, and the stern faces of Genma-sensei, Kakashi-sensei, and Orochimaru. Sakura smiled triumphantly until she noticed the stare her teacher had on her chest. Her smile dropped as dread filled her.

'_Oh God, the bra is gone, isn't it?!_'

Sakura slid her body to her chin under the water to cover up her exposed chest, reaching an arm up to cover it, only she found that her bra was still on. But now that she was self-conscious about her bra, she really finally took notice of the fact that she had just stripped in front of _everyone_, openly challenged Tayuya, and then _dove into the pond_! In front of her teachers!

Her entire face looked shockingly similar to the brightest shade of her undergarments, and the look she was receiving from Genma only made her flush more.

In a pitiful attempt to save herself, she said only one thing, and in the most sheepish, embarrassed way imaginable. She traced a circle on the surface of the water with her fingertip and, innocently, she said, "Wanna join me?"

* * *

She was positive she had a splinter in her ass. The more she moved around, the more sure she was about it. She couldn't remember how her teacher had managed to even get her on the freaking roof, but all she knew was that getting down would be scarier than just sitting on the flat roof for a few hours.

'_And getting slivers of wood stuck to our cheeks…'_

"You could have had the decency to at least give me my clothes back!" she bellowed into the forest.

Typical birds flying from trees and animals racing away from her voice.

"I can't be_lieve_ he left me here, that _bastard__**!**_" Sakura pouted.

Until she could find her own way down, she was stuck up there until dark. And not 'dark when the storm hits', dark, but 'dark at 9 o'clock when it's supposed to get dark, dark'. Because, yes, there was a storm about to hit within the next fifteen minutes. And no, it wasn't even six o'clock yet.

"This is illegal!" she screeched, pounding her fists at her sides, then immediately regretting it for the roof shook.

She had been searching this cabin for hours trying to figure out how to get down. If she had another foot on her, she could get down in seconds.

"I _really_ should've paid more attention when he was getting me up here, that damn teacher!" she berated herself.

There were branches all around her, but falling ten feet wasn't her goal to solving this situation. The hell if she would actually wait until 9, either.

"No one thought you were even _serious you jackass!_"

And she _really_ had to stop screaming at no one. Genma was long back to the cabins by this point. At least she hoped so. Because if she found him lurking behind a tree (which he should have in case she seriously injured herself and needed medical attention) she would kick him right in his pretty shin.

And quite possibly steal his senbon while he was sleeping.

She slapped her open hands to her forehead.

"Why do I _always_ get myself into these situations?" she muttered, tapping her bare feet against the rough rooftop.

"It doesn't help that you take bait so easily."

If Sakura had her shoes, she would whip them down at the man below her without a moment's hesitation.

"Do you enjoy watching me like some common pervert?"

The man raised a brow –not that she could see him anyways- and shrugged.

"That depends. Do you enjoy talking to people who aren't there? You know, like a common nutjob?" he retorted.

Sakura exhaled slowly. She absolutely would _not_ dive off of this roof and tackle Orochimaru. She would_ not_!

'_Well, maybe just a little leap…'_

"Are you just going to stand there all day or are you going to help me down?" Sakura stubbornly cried.

"Genma-sensei told me not to assist in your 'escape' until you've learned your lesson."

Sakura scoffed and replied, "I think he's getting his rocks off watching me struggle in panties and a bra from somewhere nearby. Or even under me in this damn cabin!"

"You'd have heard him by now if he were in the cabin. He'd be trying to spook you and make you cry. Believe me, he did that to Tayuya freshman year. She's been after his reputation ever since," Orochimaru explained.

Sakura nodded in mild understanding.

"It doesn't make her any less of a skank," she stated matter-of-factly. "So since you won't let me down, do you think you could toss something up to protect myself from the rain? It's starting to get cold up here. You know, high altitude and all…"

Orochimaru threw his head back, clutching his stomach, and bellowed out with laughter.

"You are one of the worst negotiators I've ever met."

"I'll take that as a compliment," she said dryly, and he could see the twisted expression she would be wearing in his head.

She heard a grunt from below her but no response from Orochimaru.

"Hey, are you listening to me?"

She crawled closer to the edge to yell at him when his face suddenly popped up, startling her. She let out a cry that nearly made him lose his grip on the roof.

"God _Damnit_ _you scared me!_!!"

He pulled himself onto the roof, hauling himself over with his knee. His hair was in a ponytail and his dark button-up dress shirt was hanging around his neck, leaving him in his loose pants and a wife-beater. He exhaled harshly once he finally settled down next to her, one arm resting over an upturned knee.

Sakura scooted away from him, discreetly adding a few good inches between them. She felt a gust of wind blow her soaked hair and skin and responded by wrapping her arms around her shoulders and curling into herself.

"What happens if I get Pneumonia from this or something? Can Genma get in trouble for that?" Sakura asked more to her own self than to Orochimaru.

"Once the rain starts, there isn't much you can do unless you've got an umbrella," Orochimaru remarked, eyeing her.

Sakura shivered from his gaze but blamed it and played it off as the cold. His eyes unnerved her and left her insides twisting in an unpleasant way. Granted, he had tried to get Genma to leave her alone, saying she had finished her project and everything on time, but Genma would hear none of it. Then he picked her up, hauled her kicking and screaming form over his shoulder to the cabin, and pop, she's on the roof and Genma's gone.

"I never should have let her get to me," Sakura admitted, looking off to the side so she wouldn't have to face his golden orbs any longer. "I hate showing off my body, and I didn't win anything. I only sunk to her level, and I _hate_ myself for falling for it!"

Orochimaru seemed contemplative for a moment before explaining that Tayuya was a very manipulative person who took everything personally. She was the "I can dish but can't be trashed" kind of a person.

"I could've told you that after our little fight in class a few days ago," Sakura grumbled, still hugging her arms to her small body.

Orochimaru remained silent after her response and Sakura felt no need to make him talk. His voice would eventually get to her just like eyes already had. There was no way around his family, so she needed to learn to get used to it all, but it was so difficult when he acted like a real, normal human being sometimes instead of a spoiled Uchiha brat.

Sasuke's attitude was what bugged her the most, but she could deal with that. There wasn't much she liked about him anyways. His voice was alright but it sounded almost whiny sometimes.

Itachi was broad and big and dark. She could feel his corrupt nature emanating off of him and knew to keep her distance and to _never_ be caught alone with him. He was a genius and the heir to his family's fortune and business. He was the family's prodigy.

Orochimaru was just the wrong puzzle piece. Adopted, extremely tall, a smooth-talker, strange markings, fabulous sense of style, attractive scent, easy to get along with. That was where her problem would bud, from his ability to make her open up to him whenever she heard his voice and looked into his eyes. Separate, they were tempting, but combined, and she would be pouring her secrets into his ears and hands and pockets like she would a diary.

And she would have _none_ of _that_ trust in anybody ever again.

She could feel him staring at her, too, and that made her even more uncomfortable, like he was trying to read her and figure out what made her tick. That was just as nerve-wracking as direct eye contact. So she ignored the fact that he was sitting inches away from her, radiating heat like he preferred the cold, and Sakura's nose twitched because she knew she would eventually break and either ask him for serious help getting down, or for his shirt.

Silence ensued.

Now Orochimaru wasn't the kind of guy to fawn over girls. He wasn't particularly interested in the idea of going after a girl, doing all the work to make them happy, and being subject to all of their phone calls and affection and expectations. And their nagging, and talking about stupid things. He had enough expectations from his family, enough phone calls for business to last him a lifetime, and enough affection from his 'mother' to put any girl with an interest in him to shame, but he had no time to be nagged and tugged and bored.

But sitting beside a girl who had openly spoken against him and punched one of his 'colleagues' to unconsciousness, not to mention stubbornly ignored everyone's warnings to stay away from his family and come out of a meeting with his '_father_' without fearing for her life, made him reconsider his previous history with the opposite sex.

And what possible future was in store for him with Sakura.

He was irritated by how easily she took bait, but mildly amazed by how well she managed to hold true and be victor to the challenge. Like a few hours before, he hadn't been expecting her to strip down and proudly display the body of a woman who obviously cared very much about staying healthy and in shape.

'Or someone who is worried about being able to defend herself because she's in trouble and she knows her life is on the line.'

Honestly thinking, he had never met a girl decked with a body like Sakura's, and it made him wonder what kinds of things the girl was capable of doing. Was she just a weight lifter, or did she practice a self-defense art? Was she a gymnast, or did she take ballet? Dancer, runner, or some weird meditation follower?

It didn't really matter what she did to get the body she had, but it really made him wonder what her reasoning was. If he had to bet on anything, it would be her reaction to the Massacre. It would explain why she had been gone for so many years afterwards. Her records indicated she had been institutionalized, however. From her conversation with the head of the Uchiha household, she had been pretty touchy about the whole thing. Maybe she had lifted weights there? Like a prison?

Regardless, the girl was one big bundle of entertainment. He would figure out her mysteries later. Right now he was content with completing his task. He had already gotten her to come on the trip. He only hoped the pesky Suna brat wouldn't interfere once she returned the next evening.

A crack of lightening and a rumble of thunder jolted the two from their thoughts. Sakura looked up at the sky, wincing as a small drop of rain crashed into her eye. She hastily rubbed the assaulted eye, scrunching her nose as the scent of rain filled the air.

"I hope you know you're sharing that shirt with me," Sakura stated, unashamed of the order she'd made.

Orochimaru looked at her like she had asked him randomly for a light bulb.

"It isn't my fault you stripped."

Sakura made a sound that was halfway between a sneeze and a cough.

"Well sor­_ry_! Jeez, no one is going to let me forget about that, right?"

Orochimaru chuckled at her self-imposed misfortune, fixing her with another one of his stares.

Direct. Freaking. Eye Contact.

"It doesn't help when you've got a body like _that_," he indicated her body by tracing her outline with his eyes.

Sakura huddled even more into herself, but stuck out a leg to hit Orochimaru's before closing back in on herself. He winced when she struck him and restrained himself from reaching down to rub his shin.

"I'm not a piece of candy, so don't stare at me like you have intentions of devouring me," returning his irritated glare with her own slanted stare.

The rain was coming down finally, and in this staring match, neither really paid attention as they got increasingly wet. Sakura was waiting for Orochimaru to make a move, to say something that would give her another reason to kick him.

"You're afraid of heights," he stated.

Taken aback by the randomness of his comment, Sakura literally blinked while her eyes got somewhat wider. She released herself from her encasement and leaned forward.

"How do you figure _that_?"

He turned slightly so he was looking straight at her, making her shrink back slightly.

"You could easily drop down to the ground from here, even at your height-" Sakura made a noise of annoyance at the statement, "-but you haven't. You don't have an issue with dirt, otherwise you wouldn't have jumped into the lake and you would've been screaming about how unsanitary the roof was."

"I don't have a fear of heights," Sakura grumbled. "I have a fear of _unstable_ heights. Rollercoasters I can do because they have solid structures. Ladders can fall or be kicked and then splat! Those things are unstable beyond reason."

"What is it about this cabin that's unstable? You could hang over the edge and drop down easily."

Sakura gave an uneasy smile, the downpour making her hair stringy.

"Hanging onto the edge would be quite the dilemma," she explained. "It's unstable."

Orochimaru sighed and said, "Looks like we'll be up here until 9, then."

Sakura's brows furrowed. "You're staying here?"

Orochimaru raised a brow. "Do you have a problem with that? Because I can just leave you here and go back to the-"

"You came up here on your own," Sakura huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "I'm not keeping you here."

She was starting to shake and Orochimaru's shirt was beyond useless at this point. He removed it from his neck and twisted the fabric, wringing trickles of water from it. He figured it could potentially help, even though it was soaked. Or maybe it wouldn't, now that he figured what her reaction would be.

Regardless, he could give it a try. He scooted closer to Sakura's quivering body and draped the fabric around her shoulders, fingers lingering to tuck the edges into her sides. Sakura, startled, gasped softly and sprung up to watch him. He didn't react at all.

"Tell me again why you're here?" Sakura asked, squinting her eyes accusingly at him. "You've got some hidden agenda, don't you?"

He clicked his tongue in annoyance, glaring at her. "Are you this untrustworthy of _everyone_ who tries to be generous?"

Sakura leaned forward in retaliation. "I don't believe in giving trust until someone's earned it."

Orochimaru scoffed and leaned forward to meet her unconscious challenge. "You trust Gaara, don't you? And his little group of friends who you _just_ met, and yet you can't trust me when I'm trying to prevent you from getting si-"

"Give me one good reason _why_ I should trust you!" she interrupted, fists slamming in front of her as she moved to sit on her knees.

"I've done nothing but _help_ you since you've been at this school!" he retorted.

"No, you've done nothing but _push_ me since I've arrived here!" she cried. "'Come sit with us!' 'Come over for dinner!' 'Go on the field trip!' 'Don't listen to Gaara!'" she mocked him. "Can't you and Gaara just _leave me alone_?!

"What makes you think I want _anything_ to do with either of you? I'm just trying to get my diploma," her voice softened at this point. "I want to go away from this place, leave these memories behind. Your family caused all of this and now I've got you and that _dick_ Sasuke trying to get to me-"

"Do you always talk a lot when you're angry? You're usually quiet when you aren't," he suddenly mused. "It's like you have no restraints and you make accusations easily, like you can't control your thoughts and just let everything flow."

Sakura couldn't believe it. He was toying with her. He _had_ to be toying with her. And unfortunately, he was right.

"You know you've got _the_ worst timing, right?" she growled. "How do you pick up on things like that? I've been friends with Gaara for _years_ and he _still_ hasn't gotten it!"

"Call it a gift."

"…You know, no one's been able to stop me from ranting once I'm off since before the Massacre," Sakura commented in a calm voice.

His name lingered there, unspoken but they both know who she was talking about. Sakura hadn't had that conversation with Kabuto yet about _him_. She had been too caught up with homework and projects and Gaara to have time to stress or listen to Kabuto talk about this whole mess.

And honestly, Sakura had no idea what she would do if he ever got out of his barbed, pill-popping prison and came back to Konoha. She shuddered to think what would happen if she ever saw his face near her. Part of her feared what _she_ would do more than what _he_ would, and that thought was what terrified her more than finding out he was responsible for the whole Massacre.

She could have avoided this whole mess if he had been stupid, but he _had_ to be a genius and he _had_ to be one of the most handsome men she'd ever laid eyes on.

"I have this horrible feeling that either the roof is going to cave in or I'm going to be struck by lightening," Sakura admitted quietly. "You wanna go down, now?"

Orochimaru nodded and began to crawl over to the edge. Had his mind allowed him to tease Sakura about her poor choice of words, he would have immediately begun to laugh until Sakura's face turned red at the gutter-mindedness he had. He imagined she would try to smack him but he would catch her wrist, pull her hard against him and-

"Are you sure _you_ aren't afraid of heights?" Sakura queried amusedly. "You've been staring at the ground for a few minutes now."

Orochimaru shook his head in the negative.

"Trying to figure out how you'll get down since you're so afra- _ow!_"

"Don't make fun of me!" Sakura snapped, but when Orochimaru turned his head over his shoulder to reprimand her for hitting him when he was so close to the edge, he saw she was grinning wickedly right at him.

Her expression dared to challenge him and provoke him with her playfulness.

God, he would never admit that this entire meeting with her was going straight to groin.

"Once I see you get to the ground, I'll be able to without any worries. If I see someone else can do it, I can do it," she explained, tugging his shirt over her arms and rolling up the sleeves.

Orochimaru gave a mild shrug before flipping his legs over the edge of the roof and dropping down in moments. He landed on his feet in a crouched position, using his hand to push himself up. As he dusted himself off, Sakura came catapulting down and firmly landed, standing, right beside him. She looked down at him and then began walking straight in the direction of her cabin.

"C'mon, slowpoke!" she teased. "We've got a mile of running to do, so hop to it!"

She turned to look over her shoulder and winked at him before she took off sprinting. He gave a short chuckle before he started to chase after her. As they ran, dodging fallen branches, stubborn tree trunks, and jutting stones, the rain caressed their bodies like tiny waterfalls.

She looked quite good in his shirt. The bottom had been rolled up to her chest and buttoned there. He had to admit, the girl was a resourceful one.

From behind her, Orochimaru could see the ripples of muscle in her legs and back, the shadows of the trees sectioning off parts of Sakura's skin and making those parts illuminate.

When she focused a glance at him, her dazzling emerald eyes and striking pink hair only accented her stunning smile and made him beam a genuine grin in return.

And for the first time in his miserable, sex-crime-and-party-filled life, he thought a member of the opposite sex was absolutely breathtakingly beautiful.

* * *

Seven and a half minutes later, the two teens burst from the forest, laughing and breathing hard from their run and the fun they'd had throughout it. Both were sopping wet, their clothes drenched beyond reason, and their hair in messy, stringy ponytails.

They slowed to a walk, stumbling and releasing the last of their laughter.

"You've been running this whole time without shoes," Orochimaru commented, pointing to her feet.

Sakura shrugged, breathing in deeply. She squished her slush covered toes further into the muck beneath her. The rain was pounding harder on them now that they were out of the woods.

"Getting dirty is _always_ a laughing matter," she said calmly.

Orochimaru looked down at her to reply when he saw the emotions in her eyes and in her expression. The statement she'd just made held an entirely sexual meaning to him, but the way she pulled her lip between her teeth oh-so-slightly and the way her brows raised and then dropped made him realize she had in_tended_ for there to be more than one meaning. If anything she had intended for there to be only _one_ meaning, and they both knew which one that was.

She released her lip and removed her gaze from him once splashing footsteps were heard coming toward them.

"Sakura, so nice to see you again," Genma called out from beneath an umbrella. "Did you enjoy your time on the roof?"

Sakura gave him a fake smile. "You always know the best positions to put me in, I suppose."

Genma smirked and handed Sakura one of two packed umbrellas in his hand, Orochimaru receiving the other.

"Not that it'll do us much good at this point," she joked, opening the contraption with a loud click and a whoosh.

"What's on the agenda for the evening?" Orochimaru asked, opening his own umbrella.

"We'll probably do some notes, maybe a lecture, or maybe some games," Genma suggested. "We'll see when this rain lets up."

Sakura nodded and said, "Sounds alright to me."

Genma nodded and gave out orders. "So Orochimaru, go back to your cabin and get some dry clothes on. I'll drop by in a few minutes to bring you dinner. Sakura, same for you. I'll drop off your film with your dinner so you can see how it turned out, and your clothes from earlier."

Sakura and Orochimaru split up and walked toward their assigned cabins, Sakura taking only a few steps away before she stopped. Genma waited patiently under his umbrella while Orochimaru neared his cabin. Beneath her umbrella, she twisted to glimpse over her shoulder, making eye contact with Genma.

Then she completely turned around to face him, drawn to the smirk on his mouth that gradually appeared on her own lips.

"What a day, huh?" he questioned softly, digging into his pocket to pull out his toothpick.

Genma flashed a wink at Sakura, one that she intended to return eagerly, but only managed to have come out as a deliberate motion of mischievous intent.

As Genma drew his senbon from his pocket, Sakura nodded her head and, equally as gently, replied, "You have a good eye for educational experiences."

Sakura's smirk transformed into a smile and she stifled a quiet chuckle, shaking her head instead. Her eyelids fell down for only a moment, and when she opened them again her surroundings were green and brown blurs.

"It appears that way to people like you," Genma responded with a sparkling grin.

Genma, holding his metal stick between his fingers, reached up with his pointer finger bent under his thumb, prepared to flick her umbrella. The water-resistant fabric shook, causing droplets to scatter around them. One of them landed on Sakura's cheek.

She brought her intense eyes to rest on his coffee-colored ones once more and muttered, "People like me?"

She studied him as he placed the piece of metal between his lips. He studied her as she watched him make the tentative movement. He appeared as if he were savoring the motion of putting something into his mouth. As if provoking a reaction.

He used his tongue to guide the stick to the left side of his mouth before stating, "The people who appreciate experience."

He brought his loosely closed, calloused hand to her cheek in the form of a sideways thumbs-up. As he was responsible for causing the fluid to land on her cheek, he gently swept the cold drop from the smooth, flawless curve of her face. His thumb tucked away a strand of hair.

He let his hand linger on her skin and stretch out to cup the soft sloping column of neck right below her ear. He heard her sharp intake of air, saw her gracious chest expand impulsively, and observed the abrupt flush that merged with her skin. The pink powdered her cheeks, then slithered down her throat, gathering heat as it rose up along the swells of her breasts.

Their gaze never broke.

And then they walked away from one another.

* * *

Dinner was similar to lunch. A sandwich, piece of fruit, and a dessert that was full of way too much chocolate for her taste. She was comfortably wearing loose grey sweatpants, a soft cerulean tank top and socks, and a pink, cerulean and green tye-dye zip-up hoodie.

She had moved the four beds together and was lying on her super mattress, reading a book before she decided she would go to sleep. The book was called Son of the Mob.

It was about a boy whose family was part of the mafia, but he hated what his father did. He ends up meeting a girl and dates her only to find out _her_ father is one of the government's eyes on _his_ father, putting him in a bit of a bad situation. To make matters worse, his only real friend in the mob crowd turns out to be leaking information to the government in the hopes of finally being able to arrest the boy's father.

It was a very interesting book, but Sakura found herself falling asleep the longer she read. Eventually, she just closed her eyes for the night.

* * *

The next morning, Sakura showered, brushed her teeth, and jumped into some simple grey shorts, keeping her tank top, socks and hoodie from the previous night on. Her shoes were thankfully dry and she tugged those on. She had forgone make-up and put her wet hair into a bun.

Breakfast was a DIY thing. Genma had built a fire and was giving the students bread to toast, eggs to scramble, bacon to fry, and for some reason had taken out ingredients to make s'mores. Sakura wasn't feeling very hungry and was slightly concerned that she may be coming down with a cold.

Her nose kept itching. She threw a grudging glare in Genma's direction for putting her on the rooftop. Not that she didn't disobey his rules, but honestly, she hadn't expected him to seriously go through with it.

Orochimaru took a seat next to her on the soggy ground, offering her his plate. Still glaring at Genma, Sakura took a piece of bacon from his dish and nibbled it thoughtfully. The boy knew how to cook over a fire, at least.

* * *

After a day of shooting video, eating sandwiches, trading fruit for dessert, and writing stupid skits to perform when it began to rain again, the group of students packed their bags, boarded the buses, and were well on their way back to Konoha by 5:30.

They ate dinner on the bus and most were exhausted from the day of lugging heavy equipment around. Snores and heavy breathing formed the soundtrack for the ride home. Sakura was calmly on the border of relaxation and sleep, staring out of the window but not actually seeing what was outside.

She sniffled. If she didn't have a cold, she most definitely had allergies. She was alone again in her seat, her bag on her lap. Genma was sitting up front, chatting it away with Kakashi. Tayuya and Karin were sleeping next to one another, sharing an iPod. That reminded Sakura of her MP3 player.

Pulling the electronic device from her bag, she popped a headphone over her ear and turned on the music, allowing herself to relax even further to the sounds of her 80's playlist. Halfway through one of her songs, Orochimaru sat down next to her, bending a knee and crossing the leg over his other leg, holding onto his ankle.

Sakura glanced at him from the side, questioning him with her eyes.

"Did you lose something?" she asked tonelessly.

He nodded. "My headphone," he replied with a blank expression, to which she replied with a raised brow. He pointed at the other headphone she wasn't using and smiled. "Ah, it seems you had it this whole time!" He pulled the unused headphone from her shoulder and placed it on his ear.

Sakura couldn't help but snort at the irony.

"We're well on our way to being…" Sakura paused, "_BFF_s!" she whispered in a high, mocking voice.

Orochimaru rolled his eyes and grumbled, "Just change the song already, would you?"

And she did.

* * *

The rest of the bus ride flew by. Sakura and Orochimaru listened to her MP3 player, barely talking except to comment on the passing scenery. At some point, Orochimaru had put an arm behind Sakura's shoulders. She paid no mind to it, focusing more on trying to lip-read what their teacher and his drinking pal were saying.

At about five minutes before they arrived back to the school, Orochimaru moved his other hand to the MP3 player where Sakura's hands rested, cradling the music player gently. His hand closed around both of her small ones, encompassing the MP3 player and her hands in his large warm one.

Sakura's entire body tensed up and he noticed immediately, but did not remove his hands. He set his thumb to work, rubbing miniscule circles on her cold flesh. Sakura swallowed the lump forming in her throat, hands tightening around the music player she held. Her eyes stared dead at the back of the seat ahead of her, terrified to look away from him, more horrified to look _at_ him.

For one moment, she considered bolting and going to sit with her teachers where he would _definitely not_ bother her.

But that wasn't like her at all. She would have to handle this as maturely as possible.

"Sakura, I want you to know that I have a lot of respect for you," Orochimaru began saying. "I want to get to know yo-"

"Are you reciting this from the 'How to Get into a Girl's Pants' book?" Sakura finally looked up at him with an awkward smirk. "Or is this your standard pick-up speech?"

"I didn't figure you as a girl who appreciated things bluntly," he replied with a chuckle that sounded forced.

"Orochimaru," Sakura said, removing one of her hands and closing it over his, "I think you're an in_credib_le person." She smiled. "Intelligent, resourceful, and a _total_ **smooth-talker**." Her smile fell into an expression of amusement and she ripped her hands away from him.

"I'm not like the other girls easily wooed, so save a few trees' worth of oxygen by stuffing it because I'm not interested in hearing it." She snatched her bag, pushed off the seat, and hopped over his legs as the bus pulled into the school parking lot. "If you want a date with me, you'll have to try a _lot_ harder."

He grabbed her wrist as she started to walk down the aisle. She looked back up at him only to be suddenly pulled flush against him.

"You're the first girl to reject me," he said in well-hidden disbelief. "_Ever_."

Sakura smirked, plucking his hand from her wrist. "Welcome to the world, love. There's a first for everything."

He let her walk further away from him before calling out, "Then there's a first for us in the future."

Sakura didn't look back as she said, "I highly doubt it!" and then erupted into quiet giggles.

'_This is gonna be easier then we thought!_'

'Tell me about it.'

She skipped down the steps, securing her bag over her shoulder, and hopped to the sidewalk. The sun was beginning to set and Sakura thought a walk home with the setting sun would be just the thing she needed.

"See ya Monday, Genma-sensei!" Sakura called back into the bus and headed for the opposite direction where her home was.

"**Sakura!**_** Haruno!**_"

The pink-haired girl froze dead in her tracks. That sounded like one _pissed_ redhead to her. Before she had the chance to turn around, she was tugged and whipped right in the direction she had come from, face to face with a _fucking_ pissed redhead.

She attempted to give him an innocent smile but he grasped her shoulder tightly with his good hand, making her wince at the pressure.

"**Do you have **_**any**_** idea how worried I've been? **_**Any idea at all**_?"

Sakura was suddenly more afraid of Gaara than she'd ever been in her life. Her smile fell as she took in the seriousness of the situation.

"Gaara, I'm sor-"

"**I don't want to hear it! I thought you were **_**gone**_** for **_**good**_**!**"

Sakura was worried Genma and Kakashi would come out and try to take him away. Sakura reached into her bag and tugged out a copy of Trois Colores Rouge and waved it next to his face. She smiled, forcing her voice to sound steady.

"Look what I brought back, Panda. It's our favorite, remember?"

But when she saw his eyes clouding over, Sakura knew that no amount of sweet-talking or good-memory-bringing would change what was going on. Something serious, something _really_ serious, had happened while she was gone, and now she felt like an idiot for not telling Gaara she was going on the trip.

She tucked the DVD away and brought her hands to his face. One cupped his cheek, thumb stroking the skin, while the other brushed his soft bangs away from his forehead and to behind his ear. Even though they were too short, she kept the motion going.

She lowered her voice and asked him, "What happened, sweetheart?" Her emerald gaze pinned his teal one, searching, digging, trying to find an answer. "Tell me, Panda, tell me what happened. What did you think happened to me?"

And she was tightly pressed against his chest, his good arm unyielding around the middle of her back, his injured arm as taut as it would go behind her. Her shoulder throbbed dully from where his hand had been, but she slowly, lovingly, without hesitation, brought her arms around him, one around his back, the other his neck, the nails of that hand soothingly running over his scalp.

She could notice Orochimaru watching her, but envy was not the emotion she saw. Revulsion and loathing were instead there. Their eyes met and held for what felt like hours, the intensity was so potent.

And then Gaara told her ex_actly_ what had happened while she had been gone, and her hand froze, her entire body impossibly rigid. She gritted her teeth to keep her mouth from falling open at her own distress.

Sakura's confused gaze immediately reflected the emotions Orochimaru had been looking at Gaara with only moments before. Revulsion and loathing, but also fury. Rage. Sakura was ready to shove Gaara to the floor and attempt a full throttle attack on Orochimaru.

She could hear him whispering what he'd said over and over again in her ear. She didn't realize how violently they were trembling together until she repeated the phrase in her head.

"Zabuza has broken out of the Institution. He's coming for _you_."

* * *

**A big giant THANK YOU to every person who reviewed last chapter and has been reviewing since the beginning. And PMing me to tell me to hurry my ass up with shelling out this chapter. You guys make me _very _happy!**

**Also, I received fanart for this story from NarakusPhoenix which you all can find the link to in my profile. Thanks again for drawing! And I really love fanart!**

**So I'm pretty happy about how this turned out. I had my outline for this whole chapter written, then didn't bother to look at it and came up with what you've read. The original outline was pretty cliché, though. And I mean **_**seriously**_** cliché.**

**So, Recap: **

**Gaara is mildly injured but will be back and better soon. Orochimaru and Sakura finally started flirting and Orochimaru has asked Sakura on a date, but has been **_**rejected!**_** Those of you who picked up on it should be wondering about Genma and I'm **_**really**_** looking forward to answering any questions about his little series of interactions this chapter. Gaara has shared the news with Sakura and now we've got a bit of a mess to deal with.**

**Chapter 5 Summary: **

**With security stepped up in Sakura's world, she finds herself suffocating from all the freedom stripped from her. Orochimaru is trying to make things work between them, but Sakura's got some tricks up her sleeve to leave the boy in a seriously harsh game of intellect to get Sakura to say yes to going on a date with him. Gaara is coming up with a plan, Sakura starts acting out, and Kabuto keeps pushing Sakura onto a path her real friends know will hurt her. Not to mention Genma is acting **_**quite**_** strangely.**

**Also, I was gone so long because of finals, my new job, and my budding film career (which is pretty pathetic right now, which it should be, because if someone who lacks the gene to be funny can win an award for a comedy, the world is just not right). I'll be forcing myself off of the internet so I can focus more on my writing of FanFiction. That should give a lot of time to continue these stories!**

**Don't forget to review, please! Till later!**

**Backlash Symphony**


	5. I'm Such A Goddamn Whore

**Story Title: Playing With Fire**

**Chapter Title: I'm Such A Goddamn Whore**

**Pairing: OroSakuG**

**Rating: M (swearing, violence, death, dark situations)**

**Author: Backlash Symphony**

**Summary: Sakura, a survivor of the Massacre five years ago, is now at KAVPA. She had a job to do but found herself torn between keeping Gaara's friendship and following the perilous tempting path of Orochimaru, the son of the mobster who arranged the Massacre. OSG**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto yet.**

**Extra: The soundtrack for this chapter is "I'm So Sick" by Flyleaf, "Hey" by Red Hot Chilli Peppers, "I Think I'm Paranoid" by Garbage, "It's My Life" by No Doubt, "Get It Up" by MSI, and "Life is Beautiful" by Sixx AM.**

Text means normal writing.

'Text' means thoughts.

_'Text'_ means Inner Sakura's thoughts.

**Text **means flashback.

* * *

"It was all over the news yesterday," Gaara explained, removing his arms from her body.

The motion forced Sakura to break her stare with Orochimaru and connect gazes with Gaara instead. He brought his hands to hold her cheeks, burning red with the anger he could feel emanating from her. Sakura witnessed the grimace that crossed his features for a brief second and tried to leave his grasp so his injured arm wouldn't be in such an uncomfortable position. Her expression immediately became tender.

Gaara held her still, taking the pain in exchange for his proximity to Sakura.

"I expected them to keep talking about it, like they did with that mass murderer who escaped from prison last summer," Gaara continued, smoothing his thumbs over her angular jaw, her small nose, her smooth cheeks.

Sakura reached up to cover his wandering hands with her own, wrapping her fingers around his. She pressed them together gently, aware of the hurt she knew he was feeling. Bending her head down, she brought them to her lips and she touched soft kisses to his palms and knuckles.

Her hands cupped his as she placed them between their chests, thumbs stroking absentmindedly while she responded.

"The Uchihas probably threatened to shut down the stations or end some lives," Sakura speculated, tilting her head back up. "The Massacre was the biggest event to ever take place in Konoha. There's no reason why they wouldn't be concerned with the guy who took the rap for it."

"Sakura, this means you're going to have to either move in with me or have one of us move in with you," Gaara said sternly.

Sakura's expression reverted to her original fuming stare.

"Gaara, I am perfectly capable of-"

"Putting yourself in a position where someone can take advantage of you, and I won't sit back this time and let you get torn apart again, do you understand me?"

Sakura's mouth moved with the intention to have sound come out, but couldn't do anything but shake her head. She wanted to tell him she wasn't the same pre-teen girl who was blindly in love with a killer, but imagining herself admitting that stole her voice.

He hadn't known how close she and Zabuza were. Everyone knew they were close _friends_, but that wasn't it for her. She was in love with the boy. Hopelessly, obsessively, impossibly in love with him. And her broken heart wasn't because he had betrayed their friendship, but because he had filled her mind and heart with such intense feelings of love only to do the most horrendous thing imaginable.

And what happened in their last moments together that very morning before school started.

But she couldn't dwell on that right now. Her primary concern was getting home and figuring out how she would deal with the Uchihas, namely Orochimaru, and Gaara's group without giving herself up.

With a final glance at Orochimaru's now turned form, Sakura encompassed Gaara's good hand and tugged him in the direction of her home. She wouldn't dare speak for the rest of the night, no matter the prodding and digging she was bound to get.

Her being in love with Zabuza was one of her darkest secrets, but it was merely one of the many twisted ones she just couldn't admit to yet.

* * *

Gaara had spent the night at Sakura's. That Saturday morning he slept in while she got up early to contemplate. She stayed in her pjs all day and Gaara never changed out of his clothes from the previous day. She finished her homework, did all the readings and assignments for the following week, and helped Gaara with the work he had just so happened to have with him. After a dinner of ham sandwiches and sugar cookies, the two sat down on the couch and watched their favorite French film.

Gaara spent the night once again.

Sunday he went home while Sakura slept in. When Sakura woke up, Gaara wasn't beside her and assumed he had left for good. Once she brushed her teeth and fixed her hair into a bun, Sakura decided to have breakfast. Leaving her room, she never noticed the backpack sitting on the floor next to the side of the bed Gaara slept on.

* * *

**A/N: I am changing the rating from T to M because of all the swearing, discussion/implication of rape, and violence/death.**

* * *

"_Thank you_, Lee, this is _fine_," Sakura growled, fingers pale from the intensity she held her bag with. "Gaara is inside. I'll be fine walking the _whole __**two**__ steps_ through the doors."

Lee's bob quivered as he nodded his head, bowing forward with a look of concentration on his face.

"I shall return to check on you during the break of classes, Sakura," he informed her, eyes sparkling with determination.

Sakura smacked her forehead against her hand.

"_**Gaara**_," Sakura stated loudly and slowly, "**is **_**in class with me**__."_

Lee opened his mouth to reply but Sakura sent him a look that ended every thought in his head. And then the bell rang. Sakura swore under her breath and gave the door to the class a good shove as she entered. There was a grunt as the door collided with something hard, and a splash as the smell of coffee permeated the air.

And spread across her bare toes.

"Ow!" she cried, jumping into the classroom and into direct view of Gaara, Orochimaru, and Good Ol' Genma-Sensei.

She hurriedly kicked her flip-flop off and brought her hand to her coffee-stained toes, trying to rub the hot liquid off.

'Is _every_ day going to start off horrible this school year? Or is this supposed to be the _good_ stuff that's happening?'

Luckily for Sakura, she wiped most of the coffee from her toes, but her abandoned shoe was lying top down in the growing puddle of brown. Right next to two teacher-shoe-clad feet, also soaking in coffee.

Despite the snickers that erupted around the room, Sakura exhaled sharply and dared to look up at her teacher's face. His lips were quirked down at the corners, twitching slightly, and his eyebrows were furrowed in annoyance. Sakura winced when his gaze was directed at her, and all thoughts of hot toes and ruined shoes flew from her mind.

"Is this how you say 'Good morning' to everyone on a bad day," Genma's words were clipped, "or do you have a grudge towards me?"

Sakura's expression became awkward at his tone and she began to feel intimidated by the man standing mere feet away from her. She reached a coffee-covered hand to touch her cheek. Once the wetness hit her face, she gasped, having forgotten her hand was even wet to begin with. She heard Genma sigh almost angrily and quickly said, "No, sensei, I'm really sorry and I'll-"

Genma held up a hand to stop her before she got into a full-fledged apology. Sakura closed her mouth, brows knitting together in apprehension. He pointed a finger to the door, an indication that he wanted her in the hall. Sakura nodded and leaped over the now halted puddle, afraid to touch the door because of the man on the other side.

She heard him giving orders to the class to start working on outlines for their next projects. Soon he was in the hall, slamming the door behind him. Sakura jolted in surprise, then opened her mouth once again to apologize. She was now suddenly feeling the anger emanating off of her teacher.

Before she could make a sound, Genma fisted his fingers into the cloth of her hoodie and roughly jerked her into motion. Sakura stumbled and stifled a cry. The last thing she needed was Gaara hearing her in distress. Orochimaru had a good chance of running out with the red-head and she didn't need either of them getting in trouble by Genma or over-reacting to something she was sure wasn't going to be a big deal.

Oh, how wrong she was.

* * *

**Minutes or hours, Sakura wasn't sure. She could barely keep herself from sobbing. She could barely keep herself from tearing her skin to shreds. She could barely keep herself from running out of the building and throwing herself in front of a car.**

**Now his behavior that morning made sense. He had destroyed her heart, her friends, her teachers, and most importantly, her trust. **

**Sirens filled the air, blood soaked into her clothes, and pain seeped into her body, namely her chest and head. She wobbled as she crawled out from beneath the desk. Trembling hands tried to steady her body as she stood. **

**She immediately lurched forward and emptied the contents of her stomach.**

**Once her body gained enough strength to walk, she took a step over the body lying at her feet. One hand absentmindedly wiped her mouth as she struggled to remain standing. She tried not to look at her fallen, dead and bloodied friends, but she knew it would be worse to trip over them in an attempt to get away from them.**

**Guilt became the newest emotion added into her Suicide Cocktail. If only she had stayed with Zabuza the whole morning and left with him, none of this would have happened. She would have gotten in trouble, but at least all these people would still be alive!**

**At least none of this would be her fault.**

**She exited the classroom, trailing bloody droplets and footprints the further she went. Any thoughts of running into someone didn't exist. She wanted to go home. She wanted to hold her parents and never see this school again. She never wanted to see another man other than her father ever again.**

**Her body was stiff from having been under the desk for such a long time, making her walking to the main entrance difficult and somewhat painful. But she kept going because each classroom she passed had puddles of blood leaking into the halls, beckoning the twisted traveler to observe the brutally murdered bodies by the hundreds.**

**Around the corner, Sakura found herself at the main entrance. She couldn't see the police cars, the SWAT trucks, the ambulances and fire trucks swarming the front of the school.**

**She only found herself staring at blurs, her feet leading her down the path that she knew like second nature. Her hands gave a weak shove to the door, scarlet finger and palm prints the only mark marring its perfect clear glass.**

**She had to get home and see her parents. Regular cars were arriving around the police border, parents and brothers and sisters abundant around the officials. Sobbing, hugging, praying. And Sakura walked out, a tiny little girl no older then 13, barely dressed in more than a tank top and shorts, and slathered with dripping, fresh blood that didn't belong to her.**

**She walked like a zombie, hands at her sides, eyes straight ahead, looking right through the crowds in front of her. **

**Mother, father, home, never to see school or men again. **

**Mother, father, home, never to see school again. **

**Never to see men again.**

**She couldn't see anything but blurs. She wanted to be home, with her mother and father.**

**Further down the walk, she couldn't even hear sirens or shouts or wind. She couldn't feel the ground beneath her feet or the breeze against her skin or the blood trickling down her bare flesh. More footprints, more crimson droplets painting the ground.**

**Blurs came close to her, two with red hair, two with black hair, one with silver hair, and one with pink hair. But she didn't recognize them as her parents. She didn't see them as Gaara's parents. She didn't understand that two were Kabuto's parents.**

**Because they weren't actually coming closer to her. They were swinging back and forth, hanging by their bound hands from a long rope tied from flagpole to flagpole across the field. The three women had bullets in their skulls. The three men had bullets in their hearts. **

**A gunshot rang out, loud and clear and the only sound to Sakura's ears. The only noise in the ignorant, blurry, blank little world in her head. Sakura blinked, feeling suddenly sleepy. Shouts were beginning to bleed into her receptors. Sirens were sounding and giving her a headache. The dizziness was consuming her, but the blurs became sharper.**

**She blinked slowly, over and over. Her feet were heavy. Her body felt burdened and weighted. She just wanted to close her eyes and go to sleep, but the images of her dead friends appeared every time her eyelids closed. She could feel Zabuza's presence beside her, in front of her, against her, but he wasn't there anymore.**

**Her parents were, though. As were Gaara's. As were Kabuto's. Swinging like wind chimes. Sakura blinked once more, and every detail became so sharp and vibrant she felt her headache intensify to the point that she wanted to sob. Everything was so sharp she couldn't see anything at all.**

**Her feet moved forward, to the woman with pink hair as pale as her own. To the man with eyes as teal as her own. To the woman with hands that nurtured her friends. To the man who raised her when her parents were gone. To the woman who began to teach her medicine. To the man who introduced her to the library.**

**Now they were swinging clearly, dead, blood already coagulated in puddles and trails down and around their bodies. Now two men in dark uniforms raced towards her, not swinging, but running. Men in white carrying a strange flat bed were faster. They didn't barge through the barrier of parents to reach her.**

**But the letters written were forming right before her very eyes. Bloody strokes across the white clothes of her mother and father and the other four parents who had raised Gaara, Kabuto, and herself. And a bloody message written from the blood beneath their bodies.**

**Her knees hurt when they hit the ground, but only for a moment. She couldn't understand why everything had gotten taller. She couldn't understand why men were running to her, screaming for each other to hurry up and get her onto the flat white bed.**

**Her stomach was throbbing now, and chills were caressing her body, trying to erase the pain she was beginning to feel more and more of. Her heart ached, her head pounded, her stomach hurt so much, her legs were numb, but her eyes were focused on the cryptic message ahead of her, becoming clearer as the men in uniforms got closer.**

**Sakura blinked, eyelids staying closed for more than a second, but she forced them open again to read that message, the words dedicated to her, and only her.**

**And she smiled a horrific, crimson-tinted smile before the men arrived to her side. Everything faded and bubbled into a whirl of color, then blissful black with those words staining the backs of her eyelids.**

**Be Free Sakura.**

* * *

Sakura wanted to ask her teacher where they were going but felt that even breaking their verbal silence to gasp would make him all the more furious. She took large steps to accommodate the pace Genma was stomping at. Sakura knew that this anger of his was well beyond a spilled cup of coffee.

She was afraid to know just how far beyond.

They rounded a corner in the basement, the dark empty hall an omen of bad fortune to Sakura's over-suspicious brain. Keys were in Genma's hand, then the door, and then she was in the classroom faster than she could comprehend. Darkness swallowed her from the front as she stumbled to gain her balance, then light filled the room as her teacher locked the door almost violently behind her.

Sakura was now very worried. She could have understood if Genma had taken her to the office, the in-school suspension room down the hall, or even another teacher's classroom, but to go through the effort of unlocking a classroom and isolating them entirely made her more than nervous.

Now she had to wonder what exactly his intentions were while they were alone.

Feeling as if she had no choice, she finally spoke up. "Sensei, I-"

"What the _**hell**_ kind of game do you think you're **playing**, Sakura?"

Sakura was so taken aback by the sheer fury his words held she stumbled backwards, colliding with the desks behind her. The legs of the desk she settled on screeched across the floor as Genma closed the distance between them.

"Do you have _any __**idea**_ how much trouble you're in?"

Sakura confusedly gazed at her teacher, completely ignorant to the reasoning behind this rant and his terrifying actions.

"This has nothing to do with my hoodie and flip-flops, does it?" Sakura asked, afraid that his answer would lead to some serious talking.

"Do **not **_**toy**_ with me, Sakura," Genma growled, slamming his hands down on either side of her body, effectively caging her in against the desk.

"I'm not effin' **toying** with you!" she snapped before she realized her anger was surfacing.

Sakura could feel his furious exhales on her face, soaked in the heat he radiated, inhaled the smell of him, quivered at his presence so close to her body.

"You are moving in far too close for comfort."

Sakura scoffed, furrowing her brows.

"Whose comfort? Mine?" she hissed. "Or yours?"

"_**Don't**_-"

"I'm doing **ex**_**actly**_ what I was told to do, _sensei_," she spat. "He's coming back, _**just like I promised**_, and until he gets here, I can lure the other bird in before launching the stone."

"This is getting out of hand, and you **know** it," Genma reprimanded.

Sakura let out a harsh, bitter snort of a laugh. "That's your _**jealousy**_ talking, **sensei**!" she provoked. "We've barely even be_**gun**_!"

"I can_**not**_ let you go through with this-"

"You have **no** _choice_ in the matter-"

"I have _**every**_choice in the matter, Sakura!"

She was silent for a long moment. She stared at him, scrutinizing his face, searching his eyes for sincerity. She shook her head.

"I'm not here because I want to be!" she bellowed. "How can you penalize me because I was _friends_ with somebody?"

"You know more about him-"

"And I _**told you everything **_I knew **five years ago!** I haven't seen him in five years so how the _**fuck**_ do you expect me to know anything more?"

His fingers were suddenly around her throat, applying enough pressure to make it hard to breathe. Her hands immediately wrapped around his wrists.

"You had better remember who you're talking to," he threatened, voice low. "I'm your only chance out of here, so you better get your head out of the clouds and realize that this is real life."

"I'm sick of your fucking _**shit**_and I'm done with all of this!" she forced between gasps of air. "Go ahead and turn me in because there is no _**fucking way**_ I'm-_mnn!_"

Her hands fisted the fabric around his upper arms, fingers digging into the flesh and the defined muscle beneath. She couldn't open her eyes even if she wanted to while his lips were securely fastened over her own. His fingers easily fit over her jaw and beneath her bent knee, the hand at her chin pressuring her mouth to open while the one at her leg set upon heaving her body towards his own.

She gasped at the harshness of his touch and he spared no moments in taking advantage of her parted lips, making her feel as if he would devour her if given the chance. She couldn't help the whimper that escaped her as he dominated her motions with his strength alone.

She tried to pull her head away but he followed her lips wherever they moved, as if they were magnets that could not defy their natural attraction and connection when they were within a certain distance from the other. Her back hit the desktop hard, forcing her to arch up against his chest. He removed his hand from her face and slid the one at her knee as high up the back of her thigh as he could.

He placed his elbow onto the inside of her upper arm and pressed his weight onto it. She cried into his mouth at the sharp pain as he further pinned her down. He pulled his lips from her soft mouth and began nipping at the column of her throat.

"Stop it!" she shouted, but one particularly painful bite to her collarbone elicited a cry from her mouth.

The hand on her thigh tugged her leg off to the side and he fluidly fit his body flush against her before finding the zipper of her shorts.

"I'm the one with the power, here."

She pounded her fist against his back and screamed for all she was worth.

The halls had never been so quiet.

* * *

"Now can anyone tell me how this passage is an example of foreshadowing? Sakura? I haven't heard from you yet. Why don't you tell us?"

The pink-haired teen stared straight ahead, eyelids drooping the longer time went by. Iruka cleared his throat and set his notebook down on his desk.

"Sakura?" he called out, receiving no response from his best student. "Sakura, are you-"

There was a knock on the door interrupting his sentence and Orochimaru's head popped in. He cast a glance in Sakura's direction before facing Iruka.

"Sorry to interrupt but I need to borrow Sakura for a minute," the pale-skinned boy explained, motioning to Sakura with his head.

Before Iruka could approve, Sakura was on her feet, bag in hand, and headed out of the classroom.

* * *

"I'm kind of surprised you even acknowledged my presence earlier," Orochimaru said with an awkward chuckle.

Sakura's foot collided with a plastic bottle, sending the litter tumbling and clattering into the barren street. Her eyes were flittering between the ground below her and the houses around her.

"I'm convincing myself you had only wholesome intentions when you told me to go on the trip," she deadpanned.

He tucked his hands further into his pockets, allowing his shoulders to slouch slightly.

"I did."

They didn't say anything for a long while. They were content walking side by side the entire mile back to their neighborhood. The cloudy sky grew darker the further from the school they went. It wasn't until a rumble of thunder exploded and literally shook everything that Sakura stopped dead in her tracks.

Orochimaru slowed to a halt when he noticed she wasn't moving with him any longer. He pulled a hand from his pocket as he turned to go back to her. He folded a hand over her cheek, standing a few inches away from her, and stared down at her head.

"Don't tell me you're afraid of a little thunder?" he teased with a grin, but the expression turned to a frown when Sakura tilted her head up, staring directly at the yellow-eyed male. "You are, aren't you?"

"What exactly am I to you?" she uttered, her tone the most serious Orochimaru had ever heard her use.

He was surprised by the question, brows furrowing in response to the unexpected words. He placed his hands over Sakura's shoulders, going as far as to hunch down so their eyes were level. As much as he wanted to crack a joke, he suspected something had happened to her and humor wasn't appropriate just yet.

"Well," he began, knowing he had to pick his words carefully, "you're the first girl to not want to have sex with me right off the bat." Sakura stared blankly at him and panic struck him momentarily as he realized she could have somehow been offended by that.

Thunder rolled again, only this time rain began to fall in a light drizzle.

"That independence of yours is highly attractive," he explained. "I've never met someone so…who…" he chuckled. "Sakura," he tucked a chunk of her bangs behind her ear, "you're somebody I wouldn't hesitate to become legitimately committed to," his voice lowered then, "granted you ever give me a chance."

Her emerald gaze intensified and he visibly stiffened before her. It felt as if she were literally delving into his mind through his eyes but something compelled him to remain where he was, bent over and so close he could kiss her before she was able to pull away.

Before he knew it, Sakura's arms were tight behind his neck, her face buried against his throat, and her body pressed against his front. His own arms hesitated only for a moment before they wrapped around her petite form, one around her shoulders, the other her waist.

"Thank you," she whispered.

The rain fell around them, drenching their clothes and their hair, but Orochimaru and Sakura were ignorant to the moisture while they held each other, each for their own separate reasons.

* * *

Sakura emerged from the bathroom with a towel around her shoulders, clad in green pj pants and a baggy white pull-over hoodie.

"The food should be here in about forty minutes," Orochimaru said, tugging a black sweater over his head and smoothing it over his white undershirt.

"That leaves us with plenty of time to kill, then," Sakura commented, plopping down beside Orochimaru on the bed. "Movies?"

He turned to face her, the corner of his lips quirking at her innocently blank expression. He watched her tuck her knees against her chest and encircle them with her arms.

"What kind of mood are you in?" he asked, rising from the bed and walking over to the entertainment display against the wall.

Sakura shrugged and rested her head on her forearm. She heard the squeak of the DVD stand opening and the crinkling of the plastic covers of the movie cases.

"What book-to-movies do you have?" she questioned, tilting her head to look at his back.

She watched him rummage for a few moments before he turned to face her with a stack of DVDs lying against his chest. He walked to the bed and deposited them in front of her.

"Pick one."

Sakura untangled her limbs and crawled to the pile slowly. Orochimaru wouldn't admit she was good at moving on all fours. Leave it at that. She scrunched her nose at the DVD closest to her and picked it up between her thumb and index finger as if it were diseased. She put it down next to her and went back to looking.

She hummed quietly as she flipped the plastic cases, shaking her hips ever so slightly to the tune she was sounding. Yellow eyes trained on her backside, watching the gentle dips and swerves it made.

'She's doing this on purpose,' Orochimaru thought grudgingly, crossing his arms over his chest.

He heard her gasp and barely moved his gaze back to her face in time to catch the DVD pelted at his chest.

"That one! 'Along Came a Spider' was beautiful and it didn't massacre the book all that much, either," Sakura bubbled.

She grabbed the movies left on the bed and hopped off, jogging to messily stack them outside the DVD display. Orochimaru was next to her soon after, popping the DVD into the player and switching the channels to the proper settings.

He remarked how happy she was as she scrambled back onto his bed, legs crossed and back straight like an eager child would be after being told they would be taken to the park once they sat still. He grabbed the remote, fast-fowarding through the previews and the disclaimers on his way to the bed.

He sat down at the head of the bed, lying back against the many large, soft pillows propped against the headboard. When the menu came up, he hit 'Play' and the screen went black. The movie was hardly beginning when the doorbell rang.

Sakura looked over her shoulder at Orochimaru who had already paused the movie and was halfway off the bed.

"Want me to come with you?" Sakura asked, still bouncing slightly.

"No, stay up here," Orochimaru ordered. "It could be one of Sasuke's idiot friends and they're worse than Sasuke when it comes to the opposite sex."

Sakura nodded and Orochimaru left. She was twiddling her fingers, taking time to look around his room.

The walls of the room and the sheets of his bed were the same olive green. The trim was done in a calming beige to match the pillows on his bed. The carpet was a blend of greys, golden yellows, blacks, and browns to accent the colors of the room. His comforter was a solid black on one side and on the other was a snake scale pattern that mimicked the colors of the carpet.

He had a full entertainment system against the wall across from his bed, a small bedside table on both sides of the bed, a golden couch and glass table to the left of the room, and a set of four chairs the same golden yellow surrounding the table.

She could see the door to his personal bathroom on the left, beside the entertainment display, and the entrance to his room was all the way to the right. She wished her room could be as beautiful as his, but the feeling of his room could never compare to the feeling hers emanated.

She heard footsteps approaching the room and instantly turned her attention to the doorway. She could smell the food before she saw Orochimaru pass through the doorway, two bags in one hand, two bottles in the other.

"Forty minutes, huh?" Sakura, unconvinced, asked.

"Maybe you take a long time in the bathroom?" he teased.

Sakura's nose scrunched in distaste and he set her bag down on her lap, resting one of the cold bottles against her leg. She jumped slightly and shot a glare at Orochimaru. He simply put on an innocent smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"Thanks," she muttered, and set about unwrapping her food.

He started the movie again, the only sounds aside from the film the crunches and slurps from their food and drinks. Sakura stared at the screen with rapt attention, dissecting every scene and spoken word, pointing out significance in certain shots with her chopsticks.

Eventually they finished their food and Orochimaru threw out the containers. His weight lifting from the bed didn't make Sakura move an inch. He knew the movie was nearly halfway through and had every intention of lying down so he could watch Sakura.

She was sitting with her knees to her chest when he left the room to throw their trash out, but when he returned, she was lying on her stomach, one of his biggest pillows tucked between her body and the bed, from her hips to her neck.

"Comfy?" he called out.

Sakura nodded, a sneaky smile on her lips as he sat back down on his bed. She kept her eyes on the TV screen.

"Wishing you could be this pillow, Orochimaru?" Sakura taunted, patting the pillow for good measure.

She didn't hear anything for a moment and started to laugh. She opened her mouth and began to say, "I was only kid-"

Then she felt a warm hand sliding down her side and her breath caught in her throat. Her laughter halted immediately when the fingers rubbed against her skin, massaging the flesh at points that sent shivers down her spine. She felt his pointed nose nudge her ear, brushing over each piercing there. His hot breath swept across her long neck and she forgot how to breathe.

"Now Sakura," he whispered, voice condescending, "we've hardly gotten to know one another." His fingers flexed slightly around her hip, eliciting a gasp from her mouth. "I don't-"

The sound of the doorbell and frantic pounding on the door shattered the moment. Orochimaru removed himself from Sakura's space and said a quick, "I'll be right back," before exiting the room. She wasted no time sitting up and trying to remember how to breathe, gulping in silent breaths of glorious oxygen.

She heard muffled conversation and wondered what was going on, but the voice became clearer and closer and Sakura knew Gaara was inside the house. She swore under her breath and fumbled to get off of the bed. She snagged her backpack from beside the comfortable piece of furniture and headed straight for the door.

Orochimaru was rounding the corner as she left his room and he appeared extremely pissed. Sakura was startled and faltered in her next step. He placed both hands on her shoulders, piercing her emerald gaze with his golden one. He lowered his voice so only she could hear him.

"There's a party this weekend that a friend of mine is throwing," he explained quickly. "You can go as a single person, or you can go as my date, but either way, I want you to go."

Sakura thought it over quickly and then nodded her head. "I'll consider being your date, but I'll go."

He gave her a small smile. "Thank you." Then he removed his hands and gave her a gentle push towards the stairs. "Have fun."

Sakura rolled her eyes and walked away from him. "I always do."

* * *

Tuesday was uneventful. Gaara trailed her like a hawk, escorting her to classes and leaving her at the hands of Lee whenever he couldn't take her to a class. Lee had spent the night Monday and Sakura dealt with drills once again. By third period, Sakura was dead tired, sore, and feeling anxious because of her teacher's presence.

Because she couldn't forget the previous morning.

She feared Genma would pull her aside and threaten her again or tease her and insult her mercilessly in front of everyone. Before she even walked through the doors, she had worked up a sweat and a horrific stomachache, and now she couldn't wait until fourth period ended.

Genma took roll call, pretty much ignored everyone, and sent them all off to do work. Gaara had a lot of work to catch up on and could only sit beside Sakura to try and protect her from Orochimaru. When her hands weren't shaking as she tried to write a script for that quarter's next project, she was sneaking glances at Orochimaru who happened to be doing the same thing to her.

They caught each other doing it once or twice and he offered a sly smile while she could only allow a softening of her brow. Lunch came and went, Sakura's stomach half full of forced food, and her zoning consumed the remainder of her classes. She was given a ride from Naruto at Gaara's request, and Lee arrived an hour later.

She had begun her studying for Friday's test in math, but couldn't concentrate enough and set aside her books. Lee forced her to eat his disgusting concoction he dared to call dinner. Another night of hourly drills ensued.

The next morning, she was even more exhausted than the day before. She had only a notebook with papers sticking out and a pen with her. Third and fourth period she continued her work but found herself stuck, unable to continue her story. Gaara was called down to the office at the end of third period and hadn't returned by lunch.

She ate less than she had the day before.

She handed homework in to the classes she had some due in and at the end of the day, she caught a ride home with Naruto. Orochimaru had only been able to briefly say hello and reassuringly touch her wrist or shoulder the entire day.

Lee had become Gaara's favorite night guard and had gone from arriving once Sakura had sufficient time to get her homework done to racing Naruto's car to her home. She was only glad she had completed the entire week's homework the previous weekend because, if she was honest with herself, she never would have sat down to do it that night.

Force-fed dinner once again, Sakura took a shower long enough to wash only her hair before she went to bed.

By third period Friday, Sakura hadn't brought any books or writing utensils to class, nor had she stayed conscious long enough to listen to any lectures from her teachers. Gaara was too preoccupied with his work and keeping Orochimaru from conversing with her to notice how unlike Sakura this behavior of hers really was.

Even Orochimaru noticed, but that wasn't saying very much considering his not-so-innocent intentions of getting together with her. Right before the bell signaling the end of fourth period, Genma woke Sakura up and told her she would have to stay after class to talk about some important issues.

When the bell rang, Sakura felt dread fill her. This was the moment she was hoping wouldn't come for a long time. Sure, this was the middle of March, nearly the end of third quarter. She had a job to finish by the end of the school year, but she wasn't ready to handle Genma so soon after coming back.

She stood shakily as he closed the door to the classroom.

"You haven't been doing your work in class, Sakura," he began, settling her with a steady gaze.

She fidgeted, squirming slightly in an attempt to straighten out her nerves. She remained silent.

"You've been falling asleep. Leaving your class supplies anywhere but where they should be."

Sakura couldn't even muster enough courage to look away guiltily. She could barely nod as she swallowed the lump growing in her throat.

"I have no choice but to talk to a counselor about this and see if we can help you out."

Sakura wanted to tell him he knew exactly what was wrong with her, but couldn't. Her mouth was dry and she was shaking with anxiety and fear. Genma walked to his desk and retrieved a blank envelope. He presented it to Sakura and firmly placed it into her trembling hand.

"Some suggestions you should take into consideration," he ordered. "Now get to your next class."

Sakura left the room with tears in her eyes, knowing what the envelope would say without even opening it.

* * *

Sakura hurriedly dumped the pink and white powder into the liquid meal Lee substituted for his dinner every night. The spoon inside of the glass was cold from the temperature of the contents, but she stirred as fast as she could.

She pulled away just as Lee waltzed into the room. She snatched the glass and offered it to him with an innocent expression.

"Here you go, Lee," she said cheerfully. "I made it for you tonight since you've helped me so much this past week," she lied.

"Why thank you Sakura!" he exclaimed, eagerly taking the glass and raising it to the sky. "I shall gladly drink all of this in honor of your selfless deed!" He chugged the entire thing, luckily not seeing the sickened look Sakura sent towards him.

He took a gulp of air as he finished and set about doing the dishes. He hadn't even mentioned anything about Sakura's lack of meal consumption that evening.

She hadn't eaten anything since the night before.

* * *

Sakura silently locked the door behind her, stifling laughter when she heard Lee's snoring through the thick front door. She sped down the stairs and over two houses to Orochimaru's home. He was waiting on the porch for her and gave her a hug in greeting.

"You look beautiful," he complimented.

Sakura had thrown on a pair of green tartan jeans, a solid black spaghetti strap shirt, all black Lo-Tops, and a pretty green snap bracelet. Make-up forgone, she hadn't even straightened her hair, allowing it to splay around her shoulders in soft waves.

"So how did you manage to get out?" he asked, escorting her to his car.

"I had a hunch he was allergic to a few things in my house," Sakura explained. "So, naturally, being the caring person that I am, I gave him a Benadryl for each one."

Orochimaru gave her a look that said he didn't believe her for one second, and started the car once he was sure she had her seatbelt on.

"He drank all four of them without even thanking me for my concern."

"So you ground them up, I presume?"

Sakura smiled as they headed down the street.

"Making those kinds of accusations can ruin my entirely positive intentions of helping Lee," Sakura playfully chastised.

* * *

As they drove farther into the city and closer to their destination, Sakura realized she hadn't taken the time to really re-familiarize herself with her hometown since she'd returned. She would have to do that some other time.

Soon they arrived to the party. The house was large and had plenty of lawn to accommodate the hundreds of bodies drinking, smoking, and dancing. A techno beat vibrated throughout everybody there, making Sakura somewhat uncomfortable since she didn't exactly think the Waltz or the Fox Trot were appropriate dances for this kind of party.

Orochimaru parked his car in the massive garage off to the side of the house, pressing a button on his key that caused the single door to descend once they were out of the car. Sakura whistled and refrained from calling him a show off.

She walked close to Orochimaru and paid close attention to the people who were at the party. Many greeted her 'date' with a slight hint of fear from those sober enough to remember who he was, and those who were drunk nodded and stumbled away. They parted the throngs of people, taking into account the different drinks each person had.

Orochimaru caught Sakura eyeing a group by the staircase passing around a blunt. He nearly asked her if she wanted to go take a hit or two but thought against it. He didn't know for sure if she would think he was trying to loosen her up or if she would be offended because she was too good of a girl to get high.

Besides, he didn't know the kind of person she became. She could be a funny, easy-going girl, or she could be a hard-ass violent wildcat. The same thing applied to how much alcohol she consumed.

The two caught a flash of silver hair and Hidan parted the crowd, a big grin on his face.

"Hidan!" Sakura exclaimed, surprised.

"The one and only, love," he teased, pulling her into a tight hug.

He pulled away from her and extended his hand for Orochimaru to shake, which he did. "So what can I get the two of you?" he asked, sweeping his gaze between the two with a sly smile on his lips.

"I'm not looking to get trashed tonight, Hidan," Orochimaru explained firmly, but Hidan knew he meant he didn't want Sakura to get shit-faced.

"I've got you covered," he said with a flip of his hand. "Follow me."

Sakura nestled her arm around Orochimaru's, gesturing ahead. Orochimaru didn't show the smirk he wanted to throw at her. He felt it would ruin the small victory. They pushed through the dancing teenagers, not far from Hidan as he led them to his kitchen.

He shooed the stragglers inside his kitchen out to where the drunken crowd mingled on the patio. Sakura noticed all of the bottles and cans that took up the room. She realized that around Hidan, Orochimaru seemed to relax a bit. Sakura wondered why he was so on edge and wondered more about why he would take her to a party if he didn't even like to go to them.

'Does he think I like parties or does he assume this is what we're supposed to do before popping the question again?'

She watched Hidan pour a pink liquid into a red plastic cup, nudging a blue plastic cup towards Orochimaru.

"Beer for you," he gestured to Orochimaru, "and for you," he motioned Sakura over, "my specialty Ball Breaker."

Sakura laughed at the name, suspicious but still amused by the label he had for her drink. She took the cup in her hands, swirling it beneath her nose and sniffing the fruity scent of it.

"Why is it called a Ball Breaker?" she asked, looking at Hidan expectantly.

"Anyone who makes a pass at you without your consent won't expect you to be able to fight back," he explained. "Once you kick them in the No Zone, they'll think twice about approaching you when you're…drunk."

Sakura furrowed her brows at the explanation.

"But I'm a happy drunk," she defended. "And I'd have to down a lot of Jack's before I can't defend myself."

"Well that's surprising," Hidan said before Orochimaru could. "But trust me, that's no princess punch you've got in your hand." Sakura tried to protest but Hidan would hear none of it. "No more talking, go start drinking. Go dance, go smoke, go sniff, go fuck, I don't give a shit, do whatever you want, just don't break anything."

Sakura looked up at Orochimaru once Hidan left them to go mill around his other guests.

She sighed and finally conceded. "This is gonna be a long night."

And she downed the entire glass in two gulps. She hardly even flinched at the overly sweet taste, much to Orochimaru's surprise. She crushed the cup in her hand and tossed it to the counter, then snagged Orochimaru's wrist.

"Let's hop to it," she ordered.

She dragged him away from the counter and he barely got a grip on his glass before he was moving through the crowd again, only now they were heading for the dance floor.

'This is nothing like I was expecting,' he admitted.

The techno beat had changed to something more along the lines of a heavy metal song. Sakura found them a spot right in the center of the grinding couples, wasting no time diving right into the hard noise, moving her body along with the percussion's cries.

Orochimaru wanted to know exactly how much alcohol was in the glass she had been given, but now was more concerned with staying with Sakura's dancing body and not spilling his cup on anybody as he tried to subtly move along with her.

He had been expecting a shy girl who would want to sit somewhere and drink a little bit, if she even drank at all. She would rather talk with him and smile a lot and give her secrets to him. He had pictured a relatively peaceful time between them, but he was so incredibly _wrong_.

Sakura moved with the confidence of an experienced dancer, rocking her hips and shoulders as if she were the most exotic woman on the planet. Her eyes were closed, blocking out anything she could potentially be distracted by, and she just moved. She twisted gracefully, moving her limbs in time with the blaring beats that encompassed her.

Orochimaru realized he would have to do more than make minor motions to accent Sakura's body. He saw a flash of silver before his cup was gone and he automatically knew Hidan had planned something. A part of his mind warned him he would be bound to deal with more than this before the night was over.

Hidan had definitely altered the plan by _massive _proportions.

The pink-haired teen wound her fingers through her hair, tugging at the softly waved strands and swiveling her hips without a care in the world. The first song ended and a new techno beat picked up. She had just begun to turn when she felt familiar hands grip her small waist.

She threw her head back and saw Orochimaru's yellow eyes gazing reflecting her intense stare. She closed her eyes again and resumed her motions, now feeling his sturdy frame following her movements closely, pressed as tightly against her back as he could.

She smiled and arched back into him, feeling him stiffen against her. One of his hands wandered up her side, fingertips pressing into her skin beneath her breast, then again at the curve of her neck. He could feel her pulse wildly fluttering and knew he couldn't blame Hidan just yet.

His fingers wove through her hair, removing her hands from the smooth, silky strands and spinning her to face him. He slammed their bodies back together, front to front. Their hips swung in unison, his hands gripping her waist, her shoulders, the back of her neck, whatever he could hold as long as it brought her closer to him.

Her fingers trailed over his arms, teasing along his sides like she was some goddess who knew the exact location of his weakness. He struggled to maintain control of their motions but Sakura was just as adamant about keeping the lead, using her strength to pull her hips away long enough for him to lean forward.

She would angle her hips just enough before pressing back against him, making sure to open her eyes for a moment to see his own slide shut. She could hear the groans he made through the vibrations she felt traveling through his chest.

Towards the ending beats of their third song, Sakura realized she and Orochimaru were pretty much the center of attention. She laughed and slid a hand into Orochimaru's thick black hair, tugging him down and halting his movements.

"Let's find something else to do," she spoke into his ear, and she was pulling him away before he could protest, just like before.

Sakura pulled Orochimaru all the way to the patio, eyeing the pool and the group sitting beside it in a circle. She finally allowed him to stop and pointed to the circle.

"What are they doing?" she asked, curiosity blatant in her tone. "Can we go do what they're doing?"

"I don't know whether to ask you where you learned to dance like that," Orochimaru stated, "or to go find Hidan and push him into the pool for giving you that drink."

"Well," Sakura began, heading for the circle of people, "Hidan would probably appreciate the pool over making out with that girl in the circle." Orochimaru looked towards the group and saw Sakura was right. "Besides," she interrupted his observations, "I took dance classes my whole life, so I mixed what I learned with what I saw." She heard Orochimaru following her. "And I'm not drunk. He didn't give me anything with alcohol in it."

"How do you figure that?" he asked, reaching out and holding her upper arm with his hand as she got closer to the poolside.

"Because I know how I feel when I'm drunk, and I'm far from that feeling," she explained, and she was completely done with the conversation when Hidan noticed her and waved her over.

"Sakura! Come join us! We're just about to start a new round of Blow!"

She felt Orochimaru stiffen from his tightened grip on her arm. She tilted her head up at him.

"What's Blow?" she asked, excited to do something other than dance and walk around.

"It's a sex game," he lied, but they were already close enough to Hidan for the silver-haired man to properly explain the game.

"So you find a seat," Sakura sat down beside Hidan and Orochimaru moved across from her beside a dark-haired girl with glasses. "The first person takes a piece of paper," he showed Sakura the post-it sized piece of paper, "and presses it to their lips. Then they inhale through their mouth," he touched the paper to his lips and inhaled, then turned to the girl beside him.

Sakura twisted around him and watched the girl press her lips to the other side of the paper, sucking in a big breath while Hidan suddenly exhaled. He pulled away and the paper was now stuck to the girl's mouth and she turned to the girl next to her.

"So you're just passing a piece of paper around? What's so bad about that?"

"If the person who is in the process of passing the paper drops it, the person they received it from has to kiss them or take a shot of hard alcohol," Orochimaru butted in, grasping Sakura's attention. "If the person receiving it drops it, the person who passed it to them decides who they kiss. If they don't do it, they face a penalty."

Sakura nodded her head, a small frown on her lips.

"I think I want to play," Sakura said suddenly, face brightening. "And Hidan, tell Orochimaru you gave me the equivalent of caffeine pills in the Ball Breaker. I know it was all sugar, but he's convinced I'm drunk. Do I _sound_ drunk to you?"

Hidan went about explaining what his special drink was really made of while the paper continued to move around the circle, switching directions every time someone dropped it.

At Orochimaru's turn, Sakura watched intently as he touched his mouth to the page and inhaled, smoothly removing the paper from the girl beside him and passing it off to the boy on his left. Sakura didn't drop it when she was on the receiving end from Hidan, and she easily sent it off to the girl on her right without any problems.

Minutes went by and Sakura had grown accustomed to moving it from side to side, gaining giddiness with each transfer. She laughed when girls purposely dropped the paper to have their best friends call out their crushes to kiss them. She had only seen one girl take a drink because she didn't want to make out with another female.

It came to be her turn again and this time it was coming from Hidan. She pressed her lips to the paper riddled with lip gloss marks. Once she was sure she had the page, she sucked in a big breath. Sakura pulled away and Hidan exhaled hard, and somehow, the paper dislodged from her lips and fluttered to the ground.

"Shit," she whispered, staring at the paper, then looking expectantly at Hidan.

"My pick then, Sakura," he said with barely-concealed joy.

He rubbed his fingers over his chin, scanning the selection of males in the circle, many eager to be picked for a shot at making out with Sakura. He already knew who he would pick, it was obvious to Orochimaru, but he prolonged the name-calling, making Sakura become impatient with worry and Orochimaru irritated from the time-consuming choice.

Finally, Hidan's gaze fell upon Orochimaru and stayed there. A wicked smirk grew on his lips, poorly displayed to Sakura as an innocent realization that Orochimaru hadn't gotten any girls to go after him the entire game.

"I'm picking Orochimaru for this one, Sakura," Hidan announced, leaning back on his hands. "I hope you don't mind."

Sakura looked at the silver-haired man in disbelief. Her mouth even dropped open a little.

"What makes you think he wants to kiss me in front of everybody?" Sakura stalled, not seeing Orochimaru standing, and begin to walk over to her.

"What makes you think kissing in front of everyone is the _mildest_ he's done?"

Before she could respond, long fingers curled around her wrist and jerked Sakura to her feet. She gasped and stumbled, steadying herself against Orochimaru's chest. She felt his other hand cup her cheek and felt her heart thump wildly in her chest.

'Oh God, he's really going to do this…'

His face descended, his breath hitting her full on the mouth, and she froze when her lips parted entirely on their own. She stared up at him, watching his eyes grow bigger every centimeter closer he came. She could see how sadistically happy this was making him, seeing her squirm at their proximity.

His lips were millimeters away and she was ready to pass out from the thundering of her heart and the sugar coursing through her system. She couldn't halt her quivering hands, fingers grasping his shirt in a hold that betrayed her nervousness. His heat was making her dizzy and his cologne was overriding her senses.

Then his bottom lip brushed over hers.

And sirens broke the silence.

Hidan threw his head back and bellowed, "Everybody scatter!"

Sakura didn't need to be told twice. She leaped over the girl sitting at her feet, racing away from the pool. She reached the fence in the backyard, turning to make sure Orochimaru was somewhere behind her. He caught up to her easily and they both hopped the fence.

Sakura had no idea where to go, and wondered why Orochimaru didn't just stay behind when he knew he could say his name and he would be allowed to go home without getting into trouble. Regardless, she had to get out of there quickly.

She wouldn't be able to handle seeing Genma again.

She had no idea which direction to run in and Orochimaru seemed to sense her confusion and encircled her hand, running to the right. She followed behind him, the sounds of sirens and screaming teens fading as the night air whipped past them. They raced off of the backyard, making it into the streets before taking a sharp left followed by a sharp right.

Sakura didn't recognize anything but she trusted Orochimaru to at least lead her to safety. They crossed the bridge that went over the canal, traveling along the cobblestone path that led straight into Konoha's largest park. Strangely enough, she wasn't tired and her chest didn't hurt.

Running away had never felt so wonderful.

The trees didn't haunt her like they did in her dreams. The stone ruins didn't chase her like her secrets had her believing. The grass didn't swallow her like she had been told. The paths didn't break into mouths and send her to Hell like she had read.

It was her own rapidly pacing body, fingers intertwined with Orochimaru's, and she was content. She couldn't remember being so happy in a long, long time.

One of the many playgrounds the park offered came into view. Sakura and Orochimaru slowed down, laughing at the circumstances and the situations they had encountered that night.

Sakura hadn't seen it, however, and she tripped on the raised ledge of playground's base, toppling forward and bringing Orochimaru down with her. They collided fully with the wood chips spread around the ground, bursting with laughter and chuckles the whole way down. They landed slightly side by side, their clasped hands resting between their heads.

Tears had begun to escape Sakura's left eye from laughing so hard and Orochimaru released her hand, wiping it away. She had a good two thirds of her body strewn over his and her attempt to get back up only remind them of their conversation four days previous. Sakura looked down and smiled awkwardly.

"Looks like you got to be that pillow," she whispered, gaze soft as she supported herself on all fours around his frame. "You must be pretty happy."

He tucked her fluttering bangs behind her ear, sweeping his knuckles over her smooth pale cheek. His golden eyes searched her beautiful emerald green orbs, silently warning her of his intentions, wordlessly asking for her permission to continue.

"I would be happier if I got that kiss you owe," he teased in a gentle voice.

"Well," Sakura said slowly, "you should get right on that."

Sakura heard the slight growl of a repressed laugh in his throat as he lifted his shoulders up, simultaneously pulling her face down.

"I intend to."

And his mouth pressed directly to her own full pink lips. She inhaled sharply at the sensations he evoked within her. She hesitantly brushed her fingers over his cheek and neck while he placed a spare hand on her waist. With a guided push from his hand, she allowed her entire body to rest completely against him, reveling in the heat radiating from his well-built body and the extreme warmth transferring through his fingertips.

Her head tilted forward and she opened her mouth slowly to him. He accepted her uncertainty and eased her lips between his, rubbing his hands soothingly over her face and back. She pushed her chest against him, lifting her hips off of his and sliding farther up his body. When she set her body back down, she had placed herself directly onto his stomach.

He tilted his mouth, entangling the hand at her cheek within her thick hair. He felt the moan she released and felt pride surge through him. He finally swept his tongue into her mouth and it was as if he had hit a button to shut her entire body down. Her arms collapsed beneath her but rather than panic, he pressed her tighter against him and rolled them over.

He removed his mouth from hers, panting softly while she gasped for breath, eyelids comfortably closed as their breaths mingled. He gave her side a soft squeeze, regaining his voice.

"I would love to take you home before the Spandex Queen wakes up," Orochimaru began, pressing his lips to hers briefly, "but my car is still at Hidan's."

Sakura let out a long, satisfied sigh and her eyelids gently opened.

"What's the matter, Orochimaru?" she asked, the taunt in her voice already back. "Afraid to get your hair dirty?"

"Now that depends on the kind of dirty."

* * *

The next morning, Sakura awoke against Orochimaru's chest, wrapped in his arms. She tugged a strand of his hair, waking him up, and he ended up walking back to Hidan's with her to pick up his car. He took her out for breakfast where she confirmed they were now officially dating.

After breakfast, he drove her home and dropped her off, refraining from kissing her right there in front of all the houses on the street. They exchanged good-byes and Sakura went inside her house. Luckily, Lee was still somehow asleep and snoring loud enough to wake a log.

* * *

Monday morning, Sakura came into school with a smile. She still displayed all the signs of exhaustion, but the smile on her face made a big difference in comparison to her frowning countenance the previous week. Third period arrived and she had managed to make it to the classroom before Genma.

Gaara was waiting for her, however.

And Sakura knew the rest of her day was going to be ruined.

"What the _**hell**_ kind of game do you think you're **playing**, Sakura?"

She blanched at his words, remembering them as the exact same ones Genma had used before…

"Gaara, I don't want to hear it from you," she protested firmly.

"You don't want to hear it from _me_?" he yelled. "I didn't want to hear if from half the fucking school!"

"_**Don't**_ **talk** to me like that!" Sakura bellowed, slamming her fist into the desk at her side. "**Don't you **_**ever**_** talk to me like **_**that**_!"

Gaara was in shock for only a moment, but he didn't back down.

"I can't believe you would commit to that bastard. You know what he's done. You know how he destroyed our lives, Sakura!" Gaara tried to convince her.

"I am entitled to happiness just like every other fucking person on this planet, Gaara!" she defended herself. "Even if that means dating the boy you hate!"

"He isn't making you happy! And even if he is temporarily, he won't be able to for long!" Gaara retorted angrily.

Sakura turned on her heel and stomped to the door, planning on skipping the rest of the day.

"Hey!" Gaara called out to her, and Sakura felt his good hand gripping her shoulder, wrenching her to face him. "Where do you think you're going?!"

Sakura slapped him straight across the face, trembling with restrained fury.

"As long as you don't allow me to be happy, we," she pointed between the two of them, "aren't friends any longer."

She was gone before he could even process the weight of her words.

* * *

The next two weeks went by without much of an issue for Sakura. Gaara had tried to convince her she was in danger but she wouldn't hear any of it. She had caller ID installed on her phone so she could screen all of the calls she received. She stopped answering the door after 5 unless she received a call from Orochimaru telling her he'd be over.

In school, Orochimaru had set it up so she could walk to classes with either himself or one of his friends, typically Hidan. Gaara tried his hardest to break through the defense in the halls but never could. In class, Genma had made it so Gaara would be suspended for an indefinite amount of time if he interfered with Sakura's focus in class. She spent her lunches in the bathroom or with Orochimaru, never eating.

She was skipping breakfast on a regular basis, hardly swallowing even a piece of fruit for dinner. She could barely force herself to wash her hair and body, let alone brush her teeth. The only time she put any effort into doing something was when Orochimaru was on his way over.

Every day that went by, she got worse.

She and Orochimaru went to the movies twice, both times spent focusing solely on the movie and making comments about it to one another. They had gone out to dinner once, as well. The second weekend, he took Sakura to the paintball range, the arcade, the thrift store, and brought her home to watch some rented movies and order out for dinner.

He had been noticing her lack of involvement with school and was wondering how much longer this entire plan would take to culminate. He wasn't sure how much longer he would be able to sit back and watch her slowly remove herself from everything important and pull herself together just for him.

It was that second week reaching its last day when Sakura had to make a move. She had arrived home from grocery shopping in the late afternoon. Once she finished putting her goods away, she trudged up the stairs, deposited her clothes in a pile on her freshly made bed, and managed to take a shower. A good fifteen minutes later, she emerged with a towel hanging over her front, but not actually wrapped around her.

Her clothes had been arranged to look like they were on her body. The bra was beneath her shirt, below her pillows. Her underwear lay under the shorts she had worn, socks at the edge of the bed.

And right where her heart would have been was a bright red heart envelope, her name printed in messy angular letters.

Sakura felt fear grip her chest, nausea rising in her stomach. She hurriedly wrapped the towel around her body, making sure the edge was tight and tucked in. Whoever had done this, he or she most definitely was still in her house, most likely in her room.

She took a hesitant step forward, scanning her room for feet or shadows or bulges that didn't belong. Every step closer to her bed she took, the more paranoid she became. Who was is that had gotten into her house? Where could they be? What would she do if she was attacked?

She knew nobody could fit under her bed. She could barely fit her arm under the bed. She reached across the shirt and snatched the heart envelope. Nothing moved. Her door remained open, the window was still shut, her closet door was still open.

She gulped a breath and forced her fingers to steady. Her thumb slid beneath the flap to rip it open but it was already open.

'No DNA sample,' she thought dejectedly. 'Maybe there will be fingerprints.'

She kept her eyes scanning the room while she dumped the contents of the envelope onto her bed. When she looked down, there was a picture of Sakura when she was only 13. Zabuza was holding her shoulders, pressing his lips to hers.

Sakura gasped at the photograph.

"Who took a picture of this?" she wondered aloud.

* * *

**Zabuza pulled away from Sakura, frantic and jittery in his motions. Her cheeks were stained the brightest red they had ever been, but finally she knew Zabuza felt the same way about her as she felt about him. Her lips tingled pleasantly, the way they did when she waited a long time for a sweet and then finally got it and the flavor exploded in her mouth.**

"**Run away with me, Sakura," he begged, eyes unblinking and pinning her in a world of darkness. "I know we're young, but I promise I'll take care of us. Just come with me, go away with me."**

**Sakura looked at Zabuza with uncertainty. She couldn't leave her family, and Gaara and Kabuto needed her, too. But this was **_**Zabuza!**_** The love of her life, the boy she doodled about in her notebooks and recited wedding vows for in her dreams.**

"**The school year is almost over," Sakura mentioned. "A month longer, and we can leave, I promise."**

**Zabuza shook his head.**

"**No, now. We have to leave now, Sakura, before we regret it."**

**Sakura's eyes widened.**

"**Now? As in, **_**now**_** now? Like **_**right**_** now?"**

"**Yes, Sakura!" he irritably whispered. "Before it's too late and we can't go back!"**

**Sakura swallowed the tears that were forming in her throat, in her nose, in her eyes.**

"**Zabuza, I can't leave now. I want to, but I just c- **_**Zabuza!**_**"**

**The older boy stormed away, running as if his life depended on it. He ran across the front of the school's lawn and to a car parked on the street. Once inside, the car drove off. Not once did he look back.**

**Sakura's tears trickled down her cheeks and hit the ground like clear drops of blood.**

* * *

Beneath the photo was a note and Sakura tried not to cry as she reached down to move the picture aside. The note was folded so she quickly flattened it out. The same writing on the front was on the white piece of paper.

"_As you grow older, you'll find the only things you __regret__ are the things you didn't do." Zachary Scott_

The piece of paper dropped from Sakura's fingers and the most powerful, terrifyingly icy chill lacerated her body, forcing her to cry out and leaving her trembling from the unexplainable cold that filled the room. She heaved a breath down into her lungs, nearly crying from how icy she felt. She steadied herself by pushing down on her bed.

"And look where staying in Konoha landed you," a male voice rasped from her doorway.

Sakura's gaze shot to the door, staring at the man nearly as massive as the door.

She couldn't remember how to breathe.

His footsteps thudded towards her, calculated, intimidating her on purpose, and he was eyeing her like she was his prey. His shoulders were as broad as her doorway, his waist proportionate to the width of his shoulders, but slim and without an ounce of fat. Easily able to touch her ceiling with his hand, his spiked dark brown hair only made him appear taller. His nearly black eyes pinned her to her spot on the floor, clutching her towel to keep it up.

"Saki, don't you recognize me?" the man's grating voice only intensified the daunting aura he gave off.

"Oh God, Zabuza," she whispered, halting him in his tracks. "It's really you…"

The four feet between them were instantly closed as Sakura leaped forward, tightly wrapping her arms around his back, holding him and digging her nails into him. Her body shook with sobs and she clutched him more powerfully.

"It's really you," she repeated like a mantra. "Oh God, it's really you!"

Her tears penetrated his shirt and he roughly pushed her away by her shoulders, easily wrenching her arms off of him with the single opposing motion. There was a crazed look that dominated his features but Sakura found herself unfazed. She licked her suddenly dry lips, gazing up at the boy she had been in love with, now undeniably a man before her.

She could feel his heated gaze dissecting her matured features, the changes in her natural colors, the shape of her body, the feel of her skin. She reciprocated with every spare bit of energy she had, accepting the changes that had transformed the short boy with too thin a body and too awkward a set of ideals into this man with a solid muscular body, wide where he needed it and trim where he needed definition, and so tall he would easily threaten even the most brutal of killers.

His eyes picked up the lights from the ceiling, displaying how dark they really were after all these years. And he watched her, picking her apart, from her previously teal to now deep green eyes, her once pastel pink hair to a luscious darker rose, her once blemished skin to this smooth porcelain flesh. He knew the body she had beneath her towel must be mouth-wateringly beautiful and developed, mature like her mind and displaying every ounce the woman she really had become.

'Business now,' he reprimanded, hating how he couldn't make her his forever right on her own bed, two houses away from his contractor.

Five long, deprived years of her had only made his sanity fall farther from his mind, made his love for her become twisted and obsessive, but still solely for her, and only her. He wanted her smell, her smile, her talents. He wanted to see if she would become as attractive as he had imagined, and standing inches from his aching-to-take-her body clad in a flimsy towel and trickling steamy water, he hadn't done her justice.

"You came back," she gasped, failing in pitiful attempts at stifling her tears. "But why? It wasn't for me. It couldn't have been..."

He removed his hands from her body, knowing if he touched her any longer he would be taking off more than just his hands.

"…and I want to know why you couldn't just tell me, Zabuza!" she cried out, slamming a fist against his chest. "If you had told me I wouldn't have even questioned whether I should go or not," she sobbed, tears falling in thick rivulets from her eyes. "I would've spent my life with you, and we could have gotten married and lived on our own, making films and writing books and…and…_and __**WHY**_**!**"

His hands gripped her wrists hard, twisting her away from him and slamming her into a seated position on the edge of her bed. He moved down on his knees in front of her and was still taller than she was. He held her fists beside her face, staring at her swollen eyes and tear-stained cheeks.

"**Why did you go through with it?!"** she bellowed, struggling in his hold.** "Why didn't you fucking tell me! I HATED myself because I could've stopped it all! It was all…my,"** she hiccupped, trembling and gasping for air, voice slowing and lowering, "…fault…my fault, Zabuza, that you got hurt and sent away and did this all…oh _God_…look what they did to you," she bawled, trying to stand but being forced to sit by his towering body.

"Look what they did to _us_, Sakura," he growled. "Those fucking bastards said you would be fine, said you _were_ fine."

"They only know as much as I allow them to. Orochimaru doesn't know a thing about how I really feel, or act, or anything about me that's real. He gets this whole alter-ego of mine and thinks that I'm showing the real deal."

"Looks like we went crazy together, then."

Sakura managed a giggle between her hiccups and sniffles. She felt his hands loosen around her wrists and reached to rub them. He realized from the angry red marks on her skin he had hurt her and swatted her hands away, massaging the irritated skin himself. While he soothed her arms, he had to keep as far away from her as he could. He couldn't afford to fall for his temptation at the moment.

"I love you still Zabuza," Sakura admitted to him. "I couldn't stop myself, no matter how much they tried to make me, I wouldn't stop because I wanted you back."

She was near tears again but was losing herself in the feel of his fingertips healing her, caring for her, loving her with each stroke and touch to her flesh.

"We'll get away from all of this once I've done my job," he promised. "When this is all over for good, we'll just leave and it'll be just the two of us." He watched the love bursting from her eyes as she pictured their future together. "I'll make you mine in every way possible," he swore, but at the look she gave him he knew she hadn't waited for him in one aspect. "You aren't a virgin," he accused.

Sakura's words faltered and she felt his fingers tightening around her wrists.

"It's not what you think," she murmured, the tears back in full and spilling down her cheeks, now red with shame.

"You **spread** your _**legs**_ and it's _**not**_-"

"It's _**not**_ what you **think**!!" she defended. "I didn't **want**- he just _went_ for- I couldn't _**stop**_- oh God Zabuza I'm s-sorry! I should've…_harder_, but he _**hurt**_- and you were- I couldn't _**kill**_ you! I'd already killed everyone at school and I **couldn't** **kill you, too**!"

At that exact moment, his phone went off. He was stuck in a daze, staring at Sakura in disbelief. He wanted to kill the fucker who had stolen her most precious physical attribute from her. His phone was louder, though, and to his freedom, more important.

He stormed to his feet and his voice thundered over Sakura's sobs into the communication device. He grew more furious with each passing second and finally snapped the phone closed, nearly whipping it against the wall in favor of comforting Sakura and getting the name of the guy who had ruined her.

"I've been here too long already," he explained, wanting to put a bullet in his own head for having to leave at this exact moment. "One week and we'll meet again. Don't ask questions, just trust me."

He was gone before she could say another word. Now she had to worry about whom else would find out about the rape.

More importantly, she had to hope none of _them_ would find out she had even revealed this much.

* * *

"I'm so glad you could make it, honey," Mikoto Uchiha greeted pleasantly, enveloping Sakura in a warm, motherly hug that made Sakura's heart ache with longing for her own mother.

"Thank you for inviting me," Sakura replied, holding the woman's hands gratefully. "I would have stayed home and probably slept all day, so I really appreciate an honest meal."

"Nonsense, Sakura. You're family at this point," Mikoto winked and Sakura's smile became shy as she cast a glance in Orochimaru's direction.

He was wearing black dress pants and a light purple button-up shirt. His long hair was pulled back into a ponytail and she felt superior to any cat for she could walk by and swat it to her heart's content.

His mother had on a beautiful white spring dress with delicate blue lace trim and blossoming flowers across the chest. Her long legs were clad in short-heeled shoes that match the blue of her dress. Blue jewelry adorned her ears and throat and she had even done her fingernails in a French-tipped style.

She didn't need anything to make her look any more beautiful than she already was, though. The woman could have easily been a model considering her appearance was far more flattering than her age.

She made Sakura feel inadequate as she stood in rose-colored high heels that matched her dress. It was mostly white with the same rose-shaded trim along the hem, coming to her knees. The dress displayed glittering pink blossoms that trailed along the right side and spread along the bottom. The same pink lace made the straps that delicately shaped her shoulders.

While Mikoto's dress accentuated her envy-inducing figure, Sakura's seemed to be a size or two too big. It wasn't a topic of conversation, but her weight loss most definitely did not go unnoticed by Orochimaru, and Sakura was regretting not eating as much more than anything, but she knew she couldn't make herself eat when she wasn't hungry.

She felt inferior to his mother in so many ways and this wasn't making her feel any better.

Of course, Orochimaru told her she was the most gorgeous girl he had ever seen in his life the moment his mother went and tended to the lamb cooking in the kitchen. A brief kiss settled her nerves some, but the feel of his strong body surrounding and supporting her wouldn't force the anxious feelings that made her stomach hurt.

She knew she would be spending the night at that Uchiha's because Mikoto wanted Sakura to experience the entire Uchiha-Style Easter celebration. The next morning, she would join them for breakfast and then she would be allowed to go home. She feared she wouldn't get to see Zabuza, or that he would think she had intentionally told him those things just to make a fool of him.

If it came down to it, she would pick Zabuza, but Orochimaru had been her stability as her 'depression' escalated. Gaara's absence and Genma's constant presence drove her out of her mind. The pressure to get her job done and breaking an undeserving man's heart only made her want to dive in front of a bullet more.

Sakura had felt a little uncomfortable eating between Sasuke and Orochimaru but she didn't complain. She forced herself to eat more than she felt like eating, knowing she could feign hunger, shovel away as much as she wanted, and not feel overly full because she wasn't hungry to begin with.

She spent dessert in front of the fireplace, sitting across Orochimaru's lap. She had one arm around his shoulders and he had one around her waist. They shared a piece of cheesecake, taking turns feeding one another. Mikoto just so happened to require the assistance of her husband and other sons, leaving the two to their own devices with a gentle smile that lit her eyes.

Orochimaru was enjoying the moment too much to break it by asking Sakura how she was feeling. The grandfather clock started crying out the ticks for each number of the time. It being midnight, Orochimaru took the plate from Sakura with one hand, squeezing her side with the other.

"Why don't you go get a shower in before bed?" he suggested, lifting her off his lap and depositing her on the ground.

She gave a nod and pressed a chaste kiss to his cheek before she sauntered from the room. Orochimaru headed into the kitchen to wash the dishes, deciding he would give Sakura a half hour to herself before he came up and began questioning her. The maid in the kitchen was busily scrubbing away at the dishes and he dismissed her, promising he would take care of them himself.

* * *

The staircase was located at the end of the hall, making it difficult for Sakura to get to Orochimaru's room without taking a detour. Straight down the hall, a turn to the left, and another sharp left allowed her instant access to the staircase. The problem, however, was the fact that Fugaku's offices were behind the closed doors of the hallway.

The pros: she could easily say she was heading upstairs or outside for a minute to herself. The cons: she was afraid of who she would run into and how quickly she would unravel.

'It's now or never, Sakura,' she chided, and slowed her steps until they were silent.

She listened to the noises of the house, the whirs of the heating system, the soft creaks of the wind on the doors and windows. She tried to pinpoint voices coming from one of the many offices, taking her time in walking past them. She felt dread grip her heart at the possibility of Fugaku having left the house just to avoid her eavesdropping.

She arrived at the final door by the stairs and didn't hear anything. She swore in her mind and turned to move up the stairs when a shout caught her attention. She paused mid-step, honing in on the noise.

Apparently, that last room was the one she wanted. She placed her foot ahead of her, resting it on the tip to quickly feign motion should anyone suddenly show up. She shifted her eyes to the door at her right, the doorway ahead of her, and the hall to her left. She had to focus to make sure she didn't get caught.

Although she didn't make a sound, the voices from inside the room weren't talking loud enough for her to catch all the sentences in their conversation. She feared moving closer because it would make her seem guilty should anyone pop up.

She couldn't afford to alert anyone this far along.

She tried to slow her breathing enough that she couldn't hear her own natural bodily noises but it only helped a little bit. She could make out "13" and something that sounded like "show". That wasn't very helpful, but she couldn't move any closer.

She absolutely could _not_ get caught.

Unfortunately, luck just wasn't on her side tonight.

The door to the office swung open and Sakura stumbled in her footing, tumbling to the floor in shock. She was scrambling to her feet, just about to turn when a familiar deep voice filled her ears.

"You know I can get the job done!" it shouted. "Don't start doubting my abilities!"

The door slammed shut and Sakura stiffly faced the towering figure now in the hallway with her, shrouded by shadows and blending in while her pink hair and white dress stood out starkly against the darkness.

"Zabuza?" she whispered, forcing herself not to take off up the stairs.

She _felt_ his body turn to face her and it was all she could do to not pass out right there on the floor at the tangible rage and strength surrounding him. He stepped forward, his heat pulsing around her.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, regarding his form in the subtle moonlight breaking through the windows.

"I could ask the same of you," he replied hotly.

Just as she opened her mouth to answer, footsteps became clear against the silence of the house. Their attention jerked to the source of the noise and she realized Orochimaru was probably heading upstairs. Sakura swore and twisted on her heel, skipping up the steps by twos. She raced into Orochimaru's room without bothering to see what had happened to Zabuza.

She tried to calculate how much time she had spent downstairs so she could stage the room as if she had really been upstairs the entire time. She ran to her bag which was resting on Orochimaru's bed. She tugged out her sweatpants and long-sleeved shirt and raced to the bathroom.

Tossing her clothes to the floor, Sakura forced the faucet on as high as the hot water would go and reached behind her to unsnap the button at the top of her dress. She prayed the room would fill up with steam fast enough. Clumsily she nudged the door, not realizing that it didn't shut fully.

She bent over in front of the mirror, unclasping the ties and straps of her heels and straightening slightly to tug down her tights. Steam was filling up the bathroom faster than she had anticipated, but gratefully accepted it. Kicking her shoes beside the toilet, she reached a hand into her hair and untied the braid, running her fingers through the strands to loosen them into waves around her head.

She reached up to pull the zipper down and a hand closed over her mouth. She let out a cry but it pressed harder and she felt the muscled body of a man who wasn't Orochimaru behind her. Her eyes flashed toward the mirror and Zabuza's reflection stared back at her. Her entire body relaxed and he let her go.

"Fuck, what are you doing up here?" she whispered, now noticing the open door.

She made a move to close it but Zabuza beat her to it, kicking it shut with his foot.

"Where's Orochimaru?" she asked, swatting away the steam that was curling towards her.

"Not in here," was his low-toned response.

"Obviously," Sakura hissed.

She tried to ask him why he had followed her but never got the chance to.

Her back collided harshly with the wall and she was hoisted up before she could protest or ask questions. His hard body filled the empty space between her legs and against her frail form. His lips covered her own.

Everything about him was brutal and rugged and undeniably masculine, the exact opposite of Orochimaru's tall, thin, and toned with a touch of effeminacy. Where Orochimaru's kisses were devouring and addictive, Zabuza kissed with passion and toxicity, gripping her soul at the very edges and ripping it from her while they were in contact.

She sucked in a gasping breath as he removed his mouth from hers, reattaching it to the pulsing vein beneath the column of her throat and reveling in the arch of her back and the breathy exhale she granted him. He stepped back from the wall, steadying her weight against him as his fingers tugged down the zipper behind her.

The snap of the bra clasp, the removal of the straps of her dress, the sliding of the white material from her body, the abrupt suction of his mouth on her breast.

A desperate moan from her mouth, a powerful jerk of her hips, hands digging into his dark steam-frizzed hair, heat pooling in her core so intensely he could feel it against his own groin.

His hands separated, one clenching her waist, the other the highest point of her thigh. He sucked harder, stealing her breath and leaving her gasping his name. He slid his fingers down the curve of her hip, sliding beneath the dense fabric of her panties. One brief moment of pressure and a loud tearing noise filled the room.

"_Ah!_"

She fell back against the wall, losing control of herself and finding she couldn't care enough to stop him. The scraps of her panties fell to the floor, leaving her most vulnerable part against the stinging cold of his belt buckle. She whimpered, closing her teeth around her trembling lower lip. She was entirely naked with the exception of her nearly fallen bra.

And she needed him more now than she had ever needed anything in her life.

The knock sounding at the door startled her and let out a cry.

"Sakura? Are you all right?" Orochimaru's stern voice entered.

Zabuza's tongue moved into play against Sakura's breast despite the fact that his contractor was standing right outside the door, ready to barge in at the slightest hint of her distress.

"Go gr-_rab_ my **coat**, will yo_u_?" she cried, hating how she was so close to having sex while her 'boyfriend' stood on the other side of the door, hating how she had to use this opportunity to send Zabuza away from her, hating how she had one more part of this phase to put into action.

"Sakura, what's going on in there?" he asked, suspicion clouding his voice. "Are you crying?"

She dug her hands harder into Zabuza's hair and wrenched his mouth away from her before she couldn't say anything at all.

"No," she panted. "I'm not cry-_nn!_"

She should have let him keep his mouth where it was so his hands wouldn't have moved down to where she would have no control.

"_**Just go get my coat!**_" she bellowed. "_**Please!**_" she gasped.

She barely made out his response beneath the thundering of her heart in her ears. She knew he was going away but Zabuza's fingers were working magic against her and she wanted to scream to the high mountains.

She struggled to stop his hand from moving but managed it, though barely.

"Leave now while he's not up here. You've got to," she weakly ordered, shoving him but making not progress. "Please," she begged. "_Please_, Zabuza."

He pulled away from her, eyeing her with lust and curiosity, but finally acquiesced and left her alone. The tears brimming her eyes weren't entirely forced. Her back slid down the wall, leaving her choking back sobs and huddling into herself. She wasn't sure how long she sat on the ground, crying like she would never cry again, but Orochimaru was inside the bathroom with her, wrapping a towel around her body.

"Sakura," she could hear him speaking, "you've got to tell me what's been going on with you!"

She could feel him preparing a list of reasons as to why she should tell him, but she had to take it easy on him. She opened her mouth and said the words that would set this plan into inescapable motion, and forever condemn her.

"I was raped a month ago in a classroom in the basement of the school. Genma-sensei is the one who did it."

* * *

**Are my stories the typical, run-of-the-mill, cliché-ridden disasters that I think they are? Or am I just losing it? Because I hate all of my stories a lot right now for being so similar to each other and to everyone else's stories.**

**Anyways, I'm returning to my original chapter length. These short chapters make it difficult to update because I struggle to fit a certain amount into each chapter. When I extend the boundary and allow myself to write as if I'm doing a detailed outline, I can write much more at a quicker pace. You guys get longer chapters and a (hopefully) better read, and I get less stressed about on-time updates and I get the story finished sooner.**

**As always, thank you to the people who review. I really appreciate the time you guys take to leave me words of encouragement and criticism.**

**For those of you who don't review, I would really like it if you even gave me a quick "I like it" or "I think X should be more X" or "I think 'blank' should happen". You guys don't even have to sign in. I'm just trying to figure out how many people are actually sticking to my story and wondering what I can do to make it better.**

**Please don't forget to review, and have a nice day.**

**Oh, and I don't know when the next chapter will come out, but it will either be the last, or the first of the two final chapters. I'm hoping to get enough of it done quickly enough so that it will be the last one.**

**Backlash Symphony**


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